Summer Heat
by Brainiac0909
Summary: It’s been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi’s 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away? Lots of plot twists, some angst, YxYY eventual.
1. Summer Heat

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

* * *

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

It was just another usual summer night in Domino City. Hot, muggy, and relatively quiet. The average person had long since given up on trying to keep cool and had henceforth retired to stuffy upstairs bedrooms and fitful slumbers, where heat dampened hairlines with sweat and left window fans gasping for breath as they churned away with the familiar hum of summer.

For the city's teens, even this late evening heat was too much to keep them on the streets, with many darting into air conditioned clubs and bars, to create heat of their own.

So as long as one is able to find an escape, the summer heat is not a problem.

But the heat also has a way of making small problems into bigger ones.

As it is in a small apartment at the back of a local game shop.

Twenty year old Yugi Moto slammed down his fist on the table, as he simultaneously slammed down the phone, abruptly ending the conversation on the other end.

"My God, Yami, if you would simply hear yourself talk sometimes, I swear," Yugi muttered under his breath angrily. "But of course, you wouldn't realize anything's wrong. Typical pharaoh attitude."

But of course Yami wouldn't know what was wrong. He had simply told his hikari he was going to a movie. He simply forgot about the plans that Yugi and him had made to go to dinner for their birthday with Grandpa. And when Yugi, being the sweet, understanding light that he is, reminded him gently of those plans, of course, there was no way for the Dark to know just how frustrated Yugi was for blowing off plans again, and was completely unaware of how standoffish he sounded when he told Yugi that their dinner was no big deal and that they could reschedule some other time.

But summer heat can do that. Make a small problem seem all the bigger. But Yami had been doing this more and more lately. Blowing off Yugi lately. At first Yugi understood. After all, Yami celebrated his birthday a week before Yugi's, and as Yami's 21st was only a few days awayYugi could easily understand why Yami was going out all night without him. They were going to 21+ clubs. Well, that fantasy worked for all of two minutes, until Yugi obviously realized that Yami wasn't 21 yet either. No matter, he thought, but upon asking the ex-pharaoh as to where he was going, Yugi would get less and less unique answers as the week went by, as the day go closer. And tonight, one night before Yami's 21st, here Yugi was again, plans canceled last minute by the impulsiveness.

"_He should really be more considerate,"_ Yugi thought darkly. _"I mean, Grandpa booked one of the nicest restaurants in the city. After all he's done for him, giving him a home; a place to live, he should at least not stand Grandpa up."_

But of course, Grandpa had made no such plans. Yugi told Yami that in a last-ditch effort to spend a little more time with his dark half. He could easily convince his Dark half that Grandpa had wanted to give them time alone. And he truly did. Grandpa knew that Yami was Yugi's best friend. They were like brothers, and for the last almost five years, they had done almost everything together.

But as they had grown up, Yami increasingly seemed more distant. He and Yugi developed some different friends and habits. Yami was still the competitive duelist, while working for Grandpa in the Game Shop on time off, while Yugi had taken to going back to school, and had picked up the piano, playing in bars a night or two a week. But as time ticked closer to the present, Yami almost seemed condescending towards Yugi, never wanting to spend more than a few minutes at a time with his light. Yugi didn't tend to see it as bad as he did, but all of their mutual friends did. But to prevent any other tension from arising, they made a point not to speak of it. But the tension _was_ present, and they resolved this by spending less and less time with the two of them together, and as Yami was already the more outgoing one, they began to spend less and less time with Yugi.

Now however, was when Yugi clearly noticed a darker aura coming from his mou hitori no boku, his other half. He wasn't flat out rude, but he always seemed to speak in a slow, patient tone, that just dripped sarcasm. And now as their birthday's were coming up, Yugi was unsure of how exactly to go about approaching him for celebration.

Rising slowly from the kitchen bar counter, Yugi walked across the kitchen tile and glanced at the clock while gazing out at the late-fading sunset over the dirty kitchen sink. 9:27 PM. Yugi sighed heavily. Something was truly bothering his Yami and he didn't know how to handle the problem.

"_But maybe I'm the problem," _Yugi thought. _"I'm probably just overreacting. Or not. God, I don't know. Everything is just so freakin' confusing lately. I wanted our birthday to be a fun time. Not all this stress. Maybe we're just all growing up. I mean, apart from Yami, I haven't seen much of the gang all summer. Everyone's so busy. Maybe I just need to take a vacation. Just get outta town for awhile. Reevaluate life. I mean, apart from Grandpa and this Game Shop, what else am I going to do with my life?"_

Backing away from the window and casting one more glance at the clock, Yugi turned and walked out of the kitchen into the front room and fell into one of the large arm chairs in front of the large bay windows at the back of the shop. God the heat was oppressive. With a final sigh and turn of his head, Yugi shut his eyes and drifted off into a fevered sleep, waiting until his Yami would come in the door with a bang, unaware of the racket he made, waking Yugi and Grandpa up, as he had every night for the last week he'd been out late.

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(5 hours later)

Yugi jumped up with a start as he heard glass shatter. He quickly groped around for his cell phone, reading the time in the dark. 2:49 AM?

"_God, Yami, you moron," _Yugi cursed under his breath, as he slowly got to his feet to let his Dark half in, _"Can you be any less quiet?"_

As Yugi went to the door, he suddenly realized. 2:49 AM? It was officially Yami's birthday!

Yugi quickly doubled his step, dashing into the closet in the tiny kitchen, as the pounding continued, to grab Yami's gift off the top shelf. He wanted to be the first one to wish Yami a happy birthday, and hopefully resolve some tension between the two of them and make Yami's birthday the happiest day he'd had in awhile.

"I'm coming Yami, I'm coming," Yugi muttered darkly, as he knocked some other boxes off the top shelf. "Seriously, between the two of us we'll wake the whole neighborhood."

Finding the small, neatly wrapped box, Yugi grabbed it, kicked the door shut and ran into the front room. Setting the box on the end table, Yugi grabbed the door handle and opened it to reveal one disheveled, annoyed ex-pharaoh standing there.

Seeing the angry expression on Yami's face made Yugi falter for a second, which is why he said rather shyly, "Happy birthday Yami."

Yami's crimson eyes narrowed in frustration as he brushed past Yugi, throwing his jacket over a chair.

"About time you came to the door," he said, low, while keeping his back to Yugi. "I was out there for a good five minutes before you showed up!"

Yugi whipped around, slamming the door shut much louder than he intended to, while turning to speak to the ex-pharaoh.

"Seriously?!" he replied loudly, feeing his dander rising, along with the color in his face. "I wait up for you every SINGLE night this past week waiting for you to come home later and later because you are too lazy to remember your keys! And now you're blaming me? When I come to greet you on your BIRTHDAY? Are you seriously talking to me like I'm a child?"

The ex-pharaoh in turn whipped around and crossed the living room and now stood glaring at Yugi from across the room.

"You think I need you?" he nearly shouted, completely forgetting about the time of day (or night for that matter). "That it's your JOB to wait up for me? I was out having a fun night for my birthday and you are here to ruin it? I am responsible enough to find my own way in whenever I so choose, not to be baby-sat by you!"

Yugi couldn't believe the words Yami was saying. He knew things were a bit tense lately, but this was entirely unprecedented. But before he could reply, the ex-pharaoh continued.

"And seriously Yugi! You are being remarkably foolish if you think that I have to answer to you as to when I come home or not! I am perfectly entitled to have fun with my life, a life I chose to spend here! I didn't come here to be ruled by you!"

Yugi shot back, "Hear yourself talk! We were supposed to go out tonight with me for our birthdays and you just totally blow that off! Blow of Grandpa and the plans he mad! You are totally selfish and don't care about anyone but yourself! You know I have summer class, and you have a job, but NO! who cares that Yugi has to stay up to the crack of dawn waiting for his majesty to come home at god-knows-when! That's all you've been doing lately!"

Tears began to well in the corners of Yugi's eyes as he continued. "Don't even give me this bullshit about going out with friends every night, you gave the same damn excuse every single night. 'Yugi I'm going to the movies,' 'Yugi I'm going to the park,' 'Yugi, I'm going over to Joey's'. Blah, blah, blah, pharaoh! You can't even lie about it! You never even ask if I want to go! You think you are too good for me you selfish, ungrateful…"

Yugi was cut off, by a sudden slap to the face. Too stunned to cry out in pain or in anger at the fact that Yami had just hit him, Yugi just stood there, fists balled, tears of anger streaming down his face. Yami had never hit him before. They had never fought like this…

"Shut up Yugi!" Yami bellowed. "Get out of my way and stay out of my way! I owe no fucking explanation to you, or to anyone else!"

And with that, Yami staggered out of the room in the direction of the stairs.

As Yami went stomping up the stairs, Yugi finally collapsed on the floor, sobbing. _After everything I did for him, he is so ungrateful! If he's looking for an excuse to never speak to me again, hell, he got it now! Screw him! Screw all of them! Why the hell am I still here? I have no reason to even be here anymore! I'm almost 21, I can do things on my own! Grandpa will understand, I hope. But I can't let him know why I'm leaving, I don't want the high and mighty pharaoh taking it out on him!_

Yugi wiped the tears from his face as he got to his feet shakily, but determined. He needed a plan. He went into the kitchen and grabbed the can of money that his Grandpa stashed away for emergencies behind the microwave. Counting it quickly, he pocketed the whole $750 inside. _Enough for a few night's rent or food_ he thought. Trying to be as quiet as he could, Yugi crept back through the front room into the back hallway connecting the living area with the Game Shop. Scrounging frantically, while looking for a small bag he could stuff some things in, Yugi glanced back and forth, making sure Yami didn't come back down the stairs. But upon hearing the shower flip on up there, Yugi knew he had some time.

Watching from around the corner up the stairs, Yugi saw as the ex-pharaoh dragged himself back into the bathroom and close the door. Knowing he had only a minute or two, Yugi dashed upstairs, flew into his room, and grabbed a few pairs of clothes out of the closet. Grabbing too his wallet, cell phone, and on last thought, his new dueling deck, he ran down the stairs, just as he heard the shower click back off.

"_I'll call Grandpa later, and tell him everything." _Yugi thought quickly. _"I can't let Yami know where I'm going. But I just gotta get outta here. God, I can't do this anymore!"_

Walking quickly back into the front room, Yugi expertly twirled the lock on the safe and pulled out his passport. Satisfied, and with one last look around the place, Yugi nodded, set his jaw, and walked with deliberation out the front door, a loud enough slam for emphasis, but not enough for Yami to hear.

"_I'll show you, I'll show everyone!"_

From his upstairs window, Solomon Moto watched his grandson walk out into the moonlight.

"_Oh Yugi," _he thought. _"If only you knew…"_

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(7 hours later)

With a loud bang from the grandfather clock downstairs, Yami rolled out of bed with a start.

"_God damn it," _he thought darkly. _"Ah, fuck, my head…what the hell did I do to it, ahhh!"_

Yami bit down and closed his eyes as bright sunlight streamed through the window, and then proceeded to bury his head under the pillow as the clock continued its tenuous assault on his head. God, he had never experienced this level of agony before.

As the clock stopped ringing, Yami tried to sit upright again, but rolled back on his side as now a wave of nausea from his head hit him.

"Oh god," he muttered, as he realized what was about to happen. As he dashed for the bathroom, he thought, _"God, I hope Yugi's out of there…"_

What the ex-pharaoh didn't know, as he was bending over the toilet, was that Yugi WAS out of there. Almost two thousand miles out of there. Because Yugi had hopped on the first flight from the airport, heading for America

Out of the summer heat.

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**A/N:** Okay, long first chapter I know. But it will get better, I PROMISE :)

Please Review and let me know thoughts, ideas, suggestions. I know this SEEMS like your generic "Yami-pisses-off-Yugi" fic, but I promise you it's not!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Good Bye Forever

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews of this story so far! I really appreciate them! Enjoy!

* * *

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

(Around 10:00 in the morning)

Already Domino was a sweltering 87 degrees and rising. The sun was shining brightly through the windows, children could be heard through open windows at the Central City Park, screams of delight uttered as they run through fountains and sprinklers.

The makings of a great day.

That is, unless you are hung-over.

If you are hung-over, the high pitched shrieks, the bright light, and the muggy hot weather make for only one thing. The toilet. Where we find Yami.

"_My God, what the hell?"_ Yami thought darkly, as he wiped his mouth off for the umpteenth time, while gulping some cool water before the next wave of nausea hit. _"I never thought I would get that trashed, geez! The boys only got me, two…three…I don't know…four drinks? I don't know, god my head!"_ he thought as he bent over the toilet again.

After that last bout, Yami decided that everything was finally out of his stomach. Stripping out of his sweat-soaked clothing that he had collapsed in, he turned on a cool shower and stepped in, washing away the night before.

"Yeah…that feels good," Yami muttered, the cool water washing over his toned form. "I am never doing that again," he said under his breath. "I don't even remember what the hell happened? After that one Bakura bought me, damn…"

Washing off all the sweat and being in the cool stream eased the ex-pharaoh's headache slightly. Deciding that he'd better get out and face the day, Yami turned off the stream and stepped out of the cubical. Opening the bathroom cabinet, he pulled out a fluffy bath towel and, after a second's worth of thinking (which caused his head to pound again), the bottle of extra-strength aspirin.

"_What day is it even?" _Yami wondered, sitting down on the floor as the room began to feel unsteady again. _"I remember that drink…how did I get home…? Oh god…" _he thought, while quickly popping more than enough aspirin.

"_That's right…"_ Yami thought, _"My birthday is today. Damn…what a way to usher in the big two one."_

Standing up shakily, while holding onto the bathroom counter, Yami stumbled back into the room that he and Yugi shared. Walking immediately over to the closet, he began to pull clothes back and forth across the hanger bar, looking for something to where.

"Where the hell is my black tank?" Yami cursed. "Did Yugi take my clothes again? And where's my jeans?" Flinging multiple things out behind him in his haste, Yami began to realize several things were missing.

"Where IS Yugi?" Yami said softly, turning around. "Damn!" he cried, as the turning of his head caused all the pain in his head to come flying back. Sitting down on his bed, Yami squinted his eyes through the pain and looked across the room at Yugi's bed.

"_Strange," _Yami thought. _"His bed is made and his stuff is gone?"_ Double checking the time (10:13 AM), Yami stood up and crossed the room to look at the end table beside Yugi's bed.

"Nothing, nothing,"Yami said under his breath, shifting through the mess of scraps of paper, old duel monster's cards, some used tissue, and other assorted junk. "No wallet, no phone, my clothes gone, he must've gone out. Ha, probably going to surprise me for my birthday. My light always goes out of his way to do stuff more me."

Smiling in spite of the still-splitting headache he was nursing, Yami went back over to the closet and pulled out some other clothes to wear, before walking downstairs to see the surprise that Yugi had probably left for him.

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(meanwhile)

Yugi had managed to use his plane ticket to America sooner than he had planned; the trip that he was planning to take with Yami for his birthday wasn't for another month, but by exchanging the first class ticket, he was able to at least manage to hop on a red-eye flight for San Francisco in coach.

They had been in the air for a good six hours before Yugi finally woke up and became fully conscious of what was going on. When he had boarded last night, he had only a few minutes to make it to the gate, and even then, by the time he had finally settled into his seat, he fell asleep from exhaustion and emotion with only a brief "hello" to his seat-mate. But now, due to flying east, and being asleep for a good while, Yugi could now clearly see around him, noticing that the seat next to him was now empty, but a blanket remained and the Diet Coke in the cup holder was still half full.

Stretching his arms above him while stifling a yawn, Yugi reached down for his bag and pulled out a jacket. It was colder than he thought on the airplane, and he was cold. As he pulled it out, he instantly realized, it wasn't his white pullover, it was Yami's dark black and red one.

"Ha ha ha.." Yugi chuckled softly. "Oops…took his jacket. Oh well!"

"What's so funny?" said a voice standing above him. Yugi turned around and blushed, not expecting anyone to hear him. Standing above him was a young woman who looked in her early twenties, with mid-length platinum blonde hair and rimless glasses.

Yugi put the jacket back in his lap. "Oh I'm sorry, just talking to myself," he replied, holding out his hand as the woman sat back down next to him, pulling her blanket back over herself. "My name is Yugi Moto, nice to meet you."

The woman returned his handshake with a smile. "Hey, I'm Kristi Novak, nice to meet you too. Glad to see you're finally awake," she said, while taking another sip of her Diet Coke. "You were out like a light when I first said "hi" to you."

Yugi blushed slightly. "Sorry," he replied. "It was a long day yesterday, and I just needed to put it out of my head."

Kristi nodded. "It's okay. It was a red-eye flight anyways. I was pretty tired myself. I may be from the States, but jet-lag, yuck, it's a terrible thing," she said, while motioning her hand for the passing flight attendant. "Do you want anything to drink Yugi?"

As the flight-attendant walked over, Yugi just groaned. The long hours without moving in a tiny air-plane seat made him sore. "Sure, I'll take a cup of coffee," he said with a sigh, as the flight-attendant looked on.

As she went back for the food and beverage trolley, Yugi turned and asked Kristi, "So, do you know where we are, or what time or anything?"

Kristi turned to look at her watch. "Well, it's about 10:30 back in Japan," she said. "But I don't know exactly where we are, or what time zone we're in or anything. I think we're just about over Hawaii," she added, as the flight-attendant handed Yugi his cup of coffee.

The flight-attendant nodded. "Yes ma'am," she said, looking at the two of them. "We are just coming over Hawaii, approximately 3:30 PM, local time. We've crossed over the Date Line, so it is now one day previous."

Pushing her cart forward, the flight-attendant moved on as Yugi took a sip of coffee.

"_Okay, so it's around 10:30 back in Japan,"_ he thought, thinking hard. _"I wonder if the ex-pharaoh realizes that I'm gone by now? Ha, probably not. Just getting an earful from Grandpa for being noisy I guess."_

"Earth to Yugi!" Kristi said, waving her hands in front of his face. "You dozing off again, dude?"

Yugi just shook his head and replied, "Sorry…deep in thought I guess…but anyways…tell me about yourself. You said you're from the States?"

Kristi shifted around in her seat to face Yugi better. "Yeah, I live in Belvedere, California. It's just a few miles outside of downtown San Fran. What about you? I feel as though you look familiar. You live around downtown?"

Yugi just smiled. Everyone seemed to recognize him somewhat. Even after retiring as a duelist himself, people still seemed to know who he was. So he just replied, "Yeah, I've been to America a few times, but my home is in Japan. Or was," he added as an afterthought. "I've left to come to America on a whim."

"Really?" Kristi replied, raising her eyebrows. "How interesting! Sounds like something my friends and I would do, what we DID do actually."

Taking another sip from her Diet, Kristi proceeded to tell Yugi all about how she came to California at the ripe old age of 17, running away from home and from her abusive parents, sleeping with strange men to earn enough money to eventually get her own apartment with some friends she met in the city, and how she now worked as a receptionist at a woman's shelter. And in turn, Yugi told her all about his past, referring to Yami as his cousin, and telling her about how everyone had been shoving him off and how he had decided to just take the initiative and leave. As dinner came by, it remained uneaten on their trays while they kept talking about everything under the sun, until they suddenly realized that they were on their final descent into a late night San Francisco.

As the plane taxied to the jetway, Yugi began to gather up his things, putting on the jacket that was still sitting in his lap from all those hours ago. It was a little big, but it was comfy. The weird hours and the scent from home in the fabric made Yugi have to turn and look out the window to quickly blink back tears in the corners of his eyes.

"_Where the hell am I gonna find a place to stay at this hour?"_ Yugi thought hopelessly. But as though, reading his mind, Kristi put a hand on his arm and asked, "So do you know where you're staying tonight?"

Yugi just shook his head, as he stood up and grabbed his bag beneath his feet. "No, actually I don't and was wondering if you knew any place…" he said as Kristi cut him off.

"Don't be silly," she replied, a tease in her voice. "You are coming with me, to meet the rest of my friends. We're all crazy people, you'll fit right in. We all come from different walks of life, and you're no different. And you don't seem to be a crazy serial killer," she added, winking.

Yugi couldn't help but let a big sigh of relief come out of him. "Thanks, Kristi," he said, as they started to walk forward to the front of the plan. "I owe you one."

"Don't be silly," she said again, walking. "Anyone who has the guts to fly half way around the world to leave some good-for-nothings is alright in my book. Stay as long as you like, I'm sure we can find some work for you or something at the shelter."

As they exited the plane, Yugi took a few of Kristi's bags and they headed towards the baggage claim. But first, Yugi pulled out his phone, to call Grandpa and leave him a message, to explain everything.

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While it was going on 10:00 at night in San Francisco, it was already almost 2:00 in the afternoon the next day in Domino.

The day of Yami's birthday.

A frantic day by a birthday's standard.

"Damn it Joey!" Yami hissed into the phone. "I have looked everywhere!"

Yami was in the process of explaining to Joey that Yugi had been missing all day, not answering his cell phone, and to top it all off, he himself was still recovering from the night before.

"Seriously Joey, I don't have the patience or the stamina to explain again all the places I've looked!" the ex-pharaoh said, exasperated. "If this is some birthday joke for me…IT SUCKS!"

"Calm down Yami," Joey said calmly over the phone. "I'm sure he will turn up soon. Probably out buying you a cake or something. We'll be over in a few minutes anyways. Don't freak out."

And with that, Joey hung up, leaving a red-eyed and sick-feeling ex-pharaoh to pace back and forth again.

But at this point, Yugi's grandpa had come back from the market, where he had been since early morning, where he had gotten the call from his grandson. Upon walking into the front room, Solomon Moto saw the disheveled state of the ex-pharaoh, and realized he needed some explanation.

"Sit down, Yami," Solomon said, motioning with his hand towards the couch.

"Where's Yugi? Do you know where he is?" Yami shouted, jumping back around and remaining standing in front of the older man.

Solomon just calmly motioned again towards one of the chairs and waited patiently for Yami to sit down.

"You need to sit down for this, Yami," the older man said softly.

"What, is Yugi hurt? What happened to him?" Yami said loudly, rising again to his feet. He couldn't bear to think of anything happening to his hikari. Why the hell wouldn't Grandpa just spit it out.

Grandpa again motioned for Yami to sit, and as he did so, replied, "Yugi IS hurt Yami. You hurt him. You hurt him a lot, and last night he had enough and left."

Yami just looked up incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about? How did I hurt my hikari, and what do you mean, 'he had enough and left'?" he said, his voice rising.

"Yami," Grandpa said with a sigh, "are you aware of what happened last night? What happened when you came home from being out on your twenty-first birthday night?" When Yami looked puzzled, he continued, "You came home drunker than hell, and you woke me, and the whole neighborhood, from the looks of the neighbors I got this morning, with you yelling and screaming at Yugi for some stupid reason!"

Yami flew to his feet for a third time, storming across the floor. "What the hell?" he shouted, pacing again. "I would never hurt my hikari! What is he talking about?!"

Grandpa held up a hand. "I am only telling you what he told me. But I heard yelling last night, and you tell ME what you remember about last night!"

Yami thought for a second. _"Of course I remember nothing about last night," _he thought quickly. _"I honestly don't remember, but why would my hikari accuse me of hurting him? Oh my god, I didn't…did I?"_

Before he could recover from this revelation, Grandpa continued, "You really messed up. He's run away, and I don't know where he went. You can only pray that he will eventually come home." And this was Grandpa's true hope, for Yugi had not told him where he was.

Yami got to his feet, dashing to the closet to grab a pair of shoes. "I've got to go look for him Gramps!" Yami shouted, pulling on his shoes fast, and dashing past the chair where the old man was sitting. But as he reached for the spare set of keys on the end table, his hand brushed against a small wrapped box.

Momentarily intrigued, Yami slowed and took the box in his hand, with his name on it. As Grandpa looked on, Yami slowly, with hands trembling, unwrapped the small package.

Inside was a note, written on beautiful silken rice paper, in Yugi's thin, loopy handwriting.

_Dear Atemu,_

_These last few months have done a number on me. We're growing up, and miss the time we would always spend together. I know you've been off doing your own thing lately, and I knew that one day would come where we'd part ways. So this is my gift to you. In the bottom of this box is a ticket. A plane ticket to America. I have the other one. I want to take you on a trip to America for a few weeks, before I go off to college full time, and you go off on your own thing, as I know you've already begun to. I just want one more trip, one more memory with you. You taking this trip with me is enough of a gift for my birthday. You don't need to get anything for me. You is all I want. _

_Happy Birthday, Yami,_

_Yugi_

Tears streaming down his face, Yami reached into the bottom of the box, trembling. He carefully pulled out the plane ticket, dated three weeks from now, to San Francisco, California.

"God Yugi, I'm so sorry," Yami stuttered, before breaking down in heart-wracking sobs in the entrance way. "I'm SO SORRY!"

* * *

**A/N:** Actually, there really isn't anything I want to say. Just review and I will update SOON! Plan on maybe 6 more chapters of this length, but that may change.

Comments or constructive criticism is also appreciated!


	3. I'm Not The Man They Think I Am At Home

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

* * *

**A/N:** THANK YOU for all the reviews and love you've given me. You guys are amazing. Just wanted to address some reviews in person!

**Tiggress201:** I know what you mean about not finishing a story. I will ALWAYS finish, and I'm usually pretty consistent with updates too!

**Clare-stovold:** It's so funny that you mention "in my world, they would never fight". In my last story (WHICH IS STILL BEING WORKED ON everyone!), people got on my case for making Yugi who I did. It's fun to toy with emotions (dark snicker). But I like exploring a more human side of the characters that sometimes gets lost in the fluff. As for whether or not Yami goes to America…you'll find out in this chapter…

**Yugixyamiyaoilover:** Yay, one of my favorite reviewers! Let's just say Yami is still "recovering" from his hang-over. He can be such an idiot sometimes, can't he? As for the OCs, Yugi is going to find someone, as to whether or not that its sexual or anything remains to be seen. But I DO like paring Yugi up with people other than Yami and then have Yami try and win him back. I like seeing an ex-pharaoh have to grovel. (hee hee)

**Hikari Kame:** Yay, another favorite reviewer! I love my cliffies and plot twists, they drive people nuts, don't they? Lol. But also, go ahead and write that other story you wanted to. I can't wait to read it!

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Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

If you have spent all your life in the country, and go to the city for the first time, you just may experience culture shock. Equally large, may be moving from one country to another, especially one that is more than five thousand miles away.

That was how Yugi was feeling for the first time, stepping out of San Francisco International Airport at night. Kristi laughed quietly as Yugi looked around, in awe at the lights, sounds, smells, and people of America and of San Francisco for the first time. Lost for words, Yugi just kept turning around slowly on the outside sidewalk, almost oblivious to Kristi dragging him towards a cab she had flagged down.

Once inside and settled, Kristi turned to Yugi with a sigh and said, "So, you like America I take it?"

Yugi blushed slightly, thankful the cab was dark. "Yeah, it's so different than Japan…" he said softly, looking at the skyline as the cab went on down the boulevard. "I'm sorry I'm a little quiet, just thinking of when I came here for the first time to America for a…a job. We were only here for a day or so, I don't think I ever got outside to even see the city, and even then, it wasn't like this…"

Kristi laughed, "And wait until you see where I live. It's nothing like nothing you've ever seen, I guarantee it!" Pausing for a second, she added as an afterthought, "So what did you say you do? You said you've been to America for your job? How old are you?"

Yugi looked out the window to hide his slight embarrassment. He still didn't like people to know he was a duelist, after retiring. It was kind of embarrassing, to be known for that, plus, it reminded him of his past.

"_When things were better,"_ he thought silently.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I'm twenty, and I'm a…a…aspiring musician…"

"_Well, that's not totally lying,"_ he thought.

Continuing, he said, "I was thinking about coming to school here, but then…"

"I understand," Kristi said, low. "Life has a way of screwing with your most carefully laid plans, doesn't it? I remember when I first left home, no place to go, no money, no future. I always thought I would go off to college, find the perfect partner, and have a few kids. Now…I wouldn't have it any other way."

As the taxi continued to speed off into the darkness, Yugi decided to change the subject. But before he could, Kristi continued, "But seriously, you look really familiar. Like I've seen you on TV or something. Are those dueling cards in your bag?" Pulling them out before Yugi could protest, she began fingering through them, a light in her eyes.

"That's where I've seen you!" she exclaimed suddenly. "The name, the face, and then the cards…you're THE Yugi Moto, dueling champion, aren't you? That's when you've come to the States, for tournaments!"

Looking on with a new sense of admiration, Kristi leaned back, a haughty smile on her face, having cracked her new friend's façade.

"But why didn't you tell me, Yugi?" she asked. "Seriously, if that were me, it would be something I'm proud of!"

Yugi chuckled dryly. "It's not something I'm proud of Kris. Well, okay, I'm proud of the accomplishment. But that was of a happier time, a happier place. I just want to put it in the past…"

Quickly, Kristi tucked the cards back in the bottom of Yugi's bag. "I'm sorry, Yugi," she said apologetically. "It wasn't right for me to pry. I of all people should know that."

"It's alright," Yugi said. "It's just…it's just…been a long couple of days. I'm still unsure about all this…"

As the cab slowed down, Kristi just smiled apologetically. "Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out eventually." Grabbing her bags on the floor, she opened the cab door, holding a hand out to Yugi. As he shifted out beside her, Kristi just said, "Welcome to The Wayside."

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Sitting on the couch with a blanket over his shoulders, a cup of strong black coffee in his hands, Yami sat slouched over, staring blankly ahead at the letter Yugi left him on the coffee table, his friends sitting around him on all sides. No more tears or words could come, just silence.

Maybe a hiccupped sob.

A cough.

Then a fist crashing down on the table.

Loud.

Everyone jumped as Yami looked up, fist still on the table, angry confusion showing in his eyes, down his tear-streaked face. No one knew what to say, after Grandpa had quietly explained everything that Yugi had said, all while Yami was off being sick again. But now, everyone sat in stunned silence.

Until now.

"Why, Yugi?" Yami whispered hoarsely under his breath softly. "Why did you do this to me? What did I do to you?"

Joey, sitting closest to him on the couch, reached over and rubbed his back, opening his mouth to speak, thinking again, and then closing it, words choking in his throat.

Tea, sitting across from the room dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, eyes red and swollen, while Tristan stood at the window, staring out into the distance, not at anything in particular.

Tea, hesitantly opening her mouth to speak, choked out hoarsely, "Why didn't we see any of this? I never knew…"

Joey looked up long enough to answer back, "None of us did Tea, none of us did."

Yami looked around wildly, eyes even more red than usual. "But I should have! I really should have! I'm like his brother, I'm supposed to notice stuff like that! How did we all miss it?"

Tristan walked over from the window and sat down on the coffee table across from Yami. Looking him square in the eye, he said stoutly, "Yami, you have to deal with this man! You messed up, but you can't change the past! That's what you've always told us, you have to fulfill the future; destiny. Not sit around and mope about the mistakes you made, but get up and do something about it!"

Tea got up and slapped Tristan on the arm. "Tristan!" she said sharply, looking down on him. "Be nice! Don't yell at Yami right now, I don't really think any of us needs that right now!"

Yami leaned back and sunk into the overstuffed couch. "It's alright Tea," he said quietly. "Tristan is right…I'm only beginning to realize how selfish I was. Here I am right now, again! Going off on blaming Yugi, saying why HE did this to me…I did this to myself, and I need to take responsibility for it, whatever it is I've done."

Joey leaned back and looked on wildly at the ex-pharaoh. "But how are we supposed to take responsibility for something we don't even know is wrong? He didn't leave a note, and all we know is what Grandpa knows, and that ain't a whole lot! What are we supposed to do?"

Yami stood up slowly, as his friends all looked around him, in case he fell back. Slowly, shaking slightly, but with determination, Yami rose to his feet and looked around at the group. His friends…no…Yugi's friends who had befriended him…were willing to do anything for him, to get Yugi back.

"We'll find him. And we will bring him home," Yami said with determination.

"_And I will tell you everything Yugi,"_ Yami thought to himself.

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"The Wayside?" Yugi said, confused, looking up through the dimly lit night sky at the large, white, slightly rundown, Victorian-style house sitting in front of him as he stood with the cab behind him. "What is 'The Wayside'?"

"The Wayside," Kristi said, grabbing the bags on the ground and walking towards the front gate, "is a place that is for those who have fallen 'by the wayside' and are looking for a new start to their life." Punching in a key-code, the iron-wrought bars opened and she began to walk through. "Seeing," she continued, "as you fit that description quite nicely, you are more than welcome to stay here, as a 'special guest'."

As they walked up the drive, Yugi could see that several lights were on in the house, and the silhouettes of several people were seen behind closed curtains. Sensing Yugi's slight hesitation, Kristi continued, "Don't worry, even though I work in a woman's shelter, this isn't it. The Wayside is just the place where my friends and I live. You have nothing to fear here. We're all just trying to figure life out together. You are more than welcome!"

Yugi smiled shyly. "You are too kind Kristi," he replied. "It's just…I don't know…this might seem kind of stupid, but I…I just want to put my past behind me. I'm not ready how much I want to talk about it at first…you understand, right?"

Kristi just smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she adjusted her bag strap on her shoulder. "Don't worry Yugi. You don't have to discuss anything you don't want to with anyone. When you come to start a new life, you want to put it behind you. You are welcome to say whatever you'd like about your life. It doesn't even have to be true. But anyways," she continued, walking up the steps of the wrap-around balcony to the front door. "is there anything you'd like me to say about you, or would you like for me to take you up to your room before meeting anyone?"

Yugi just stared, not entirely sure what to say. Seeming to decide for him, Kristi just smiled brightly and said, "I'll just take you up to your room the back way. You can decide when you're ready to come down and meet the rest of the gang. It may be almost 11 PM, but they're probably only just getting ready for dinner…"

Sighing, Kristi unlocked the front door and lead Yugi into a large, old-fashioned foyer, with black and white marble tiled floors, and a large, ornate wraparound staircase that lead presumably to the upper levels. Off to the right, was a large open room filled with a mismatch of chairs and sofas, with a beaten-up concert grand piano in the middle of the room, while to the left, was what looked to be a smaller, shorter room of wood paneling, that on closer inspection by Yugi appeared to be a study or library of some sort. Looking straight ahead down the hall, Yugi could see several closed doors off each side, with what looked to be the dining room at the very end. While taking this in, Kristi lead Yugi to the left into the study, while he remained in the foyer, looking around in shock at the size of this place.

"Come on, Yugi!" Kristi called, "I'll take you up to your room now!"

"My, room?" Yugi said, surprised, grabbing his bag. "But this is the…study?" he said, looking up at the narrow staircase that appeared to have materialized out of thin air in the wall.

Kristi laughed again, her delight at seeing her new friend's surprise lighting up the whole room. "This is an OLD house, Yugi!" she said, motioning with her hand for Yugi to start up. "There are so many secret passages and hidden surprises in this house, with this staircase hidden behind the wall just one of them! If you wanna wait to meet people, then you can head up here to your new room and avoid parading up through the whole house. I know you're tired," she said, noticing her friend opening his mouth. "Come down after you are ready, dinner should be ready in an hour. I'll tell everyone that I brought home an old friend of mine, and that you're kind of quiet."

Yugi just nodded, relieved that Kristi had given him an out for explaining his absence. He just wanted some time to process everything that was going on lately. Heading up to the room, he heard Kristi close the wall panel softly behind him.

As he walked up the dark, narrow staircase, Yugi began to think of all that had happened to him in just the last 24 hours. Yami's abuse, flying out of the country, meeting Kristi, a new home…the thoughts swirling around in his head, as he entered the small bedroom. Before he could even take in his surroundings, Yugi walked over to the bed, and collapsed, exhausted, the little naps on the plane and in the taxi not enough to cure the ache in his soul.

But there was always tomorrow…

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**A/N: **I know this chapter was a lot of filler...sorry! But in the next chapter, I promise you'll find out more about Yugi's new life, and about some of Yami's _darker_ past after the Ceremonial battle. Yugi didn't just leave because of what Yami did that one night.

REVIEW REVIEW and REVIEW!!!! ^__^

I'll update soon! and the last chapter of my other story will be up by the end of July, I PROMISE!


	4. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors. THE LYRICS IN THIS SONG BELONG TO Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin and not mine! (c) 1974

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

**A/N:** I really appreciate all the reviews I have been getting. I really apologize for not updating as fast as I usually do, but I want my chapters to be the BEST they can be! Thanks to EVERYONE for reading, and bearing with me. If you are reading this, then you must enjoy it somewhat, as we're now on the all-important CHAPTER FOUR! Yugi is about to make a seemingly irreversible decision, that will change the way everyone will look at him for the rest of the story! But first to address my reviewers!

**LovinTheTan:** Don't worry, you will find out more about Yugi and Yami's history, and what has happened over these past five years. You will also find out, Yami is not the only one to blame…

**TIGGI1:** The last chapter WAS a set-up chapter now that I think about it…You'll get a lot of your answers now, building on the last chapter. Thanks for the review!

**Clare-stovold:** Hey, thanks for reviewing again! You need to give Yugi a break for a little while, because he's really hurt. But he doesn't realize exactly why Yami was so drunk in the first place. No one's really figured that out yet. But as I said to LovinTheTan above…Yugi's not totally blameless… evil laugh. Thanks for your thoughts!

**Yugixyamiyaoilover:** So I promise, no AIDS in this one…but thanks for giving me another chance with this story! I'm sure you will like it! But I can't promise Yami's going to come over right away. You'll find out why in the coming chapter or two!

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Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

The pharaoh of Egypt was known for his dedication to a task. When he was in charge of Egypt, his power and authority led to much advancement in the ancient society, in the forms of technology, agriculture, and architecture. The exploits of the pharaohs are well documented, and his prestige is well-known.

Except for one specific pharaoh.

His dedication sense was definitely lacking at this point. Instead, his mind and soul were locked in a death match, and his frantic frenzy was, at this point, driving his friends mad. His dashing here and there about the house, grabbing things, putting them down, saying a few words, then running out of the room before even waiting for a reply, showed a sense of dedication that was so strong, that it was more counterproductive than anything.

"God, Yami, can you sit down for two seconds so we can talk?" Joey yelled, as Yami crossed the living room for the fifth time, to pick up, then put down, a pair of pants he had flung from upstairs.

"Joey, I can't! I don't have time to talk right now! Come on, we gotta go get Yugi! I have to apologize!" Yami yelled from his new, current location, which happened to now be in the kitchen, where he was digging through cupboards looking for food.

Tea stood up and started for the kitchen. "Yami," she called as she walked down the hallway, "I know you want to get going, but seriously, we need to come up with a plan right now! We can't just drop everything we're doing and fly to America! We don't even-" she was cut off as she was nearly decapitated by the knife that came flying out the kitchen door.

"Whoops, sorry Tea," Yami said breathlessly, now carrying a plastic bag he had filled with assorted groceries, while darting past her towards the living room again.

Tea just threw up her hands in defeat, knowing that nothing she alone could say could stop her.

As she slowly followed the ex-pharaoh back down the hallway, suddenly she heard a strangled yell, a loud curse word, followed by a loud scuffle. Picking up the pace, she ran into the living room, where she now found Tristan standing behind the couch, hands pinning Yami down, while Joey planted himself on Yami's lap to keep him from moving, while Grandpa slowly got to his feet and began walking over towards them.

"What in God's name is going on here?" she cried, eying the strange sight.

"Yami here needs to take a breather here, Tea," Joey said breathlessly, shifting his weight so the ex-pharaoh was effectively powerless.

"Guys, seriously," Yami growled. "Get off of me! I gotta find Yugi!"

"Yami," Grandpa said softly, slowly. "THINK! Please! I know my grandson better than you think, and despite having shared a body with him these past five plus years, there is quite a bit you don't know about him!"

Sitting down next to the wild-eyed man struggling to throw off the weight holding him down, Solomon Moto put a hand on Yami's shoulder and continued, "Yami, I know you believe in rushing in to find Yugi, but you are not thinking clearly!" When Yami froze finally, Solomon went on. "Yugi is your light side, he wants the best for you! But by some means, he believes that you have betrayed him and left him; that you want nothing to do with him anymore! You can't just go and say you are sorry! One word doesn't undo years of emotional torment! Now, I'm not going to argue with you as to whether or not you were aware of what you were doing," he said, sensing Yami's impending argument. "but regardless, I DO know what you did to my grandson last night in your rage, and you had better make it right!"

Taking a deep breath, Solomon Moto leaned back and looked at the ex-pharaoh, who looked sad and defeated.

"You're right guys," Yami said softly. "Yugi is gone. I don't know where he went, or what to even say to him when I find him. I can't go after him now."

"But Yami!" Tea said angrily, as everyone turned around to see her standing in the doorway. "You don't know what happened to him! You don't even know if he went to America or not! He could be lying hurt in an alley, or he could've taken a plane ride anywhere with that ticket! You don't even know if he HAD the ticket with him!"

"Tea's right Yami," Joey chimed in. "You at least gotta go look for him! Make sure he's okay! You're his protector, his other half, his-" he said, getting cut off as Yami held up a hand.

"I'm nothing, Joey. Yugi has made a choice, and he has to live with it on his own."

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Yugi's eyes flashed open. Looking around as he sat up groggily, he tried to remember where he was. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized he was in a small bedroom.

"_Now I remember,"_ Yugi thought, taking in the surroundings. _"it's Kristi's place. God, how long was I out?"_

Looking over at the red light of the clock which read 12:49 AM, Yugi swung his legs around the end of the bed and walked around the room. With his eyes adjusting to the light, he realized he was in an old fashioned bedroom, complete with four-poster bed, large mirror and wardrobe, and old wooden door. Walking over to the door, he turned the key in the lock, slowly turned the old mother-of-pearl door handle open, and softly stepped out into the hallway.

Yugi could see that the hallway extended to both the right and to the left; his was a middle room, surrounded by what appeared to be other rooms, while all the way down to the right was what appeared to be part of the wraparound staircase that he had seen earlier, curving down to the lower levels, where he could see ambient light streaming up and casting shadows down the hallway. Softly closing the door behind him, Yugi walked slowly towards the light, noting that each footstep sent a new bout of creaks and cracks in the wooden floor.

Creeping towards the end of the hall towards the staircase, Yugi heard a voice get louder. As he ground to a halt, he heard footsteps come up the stairs, and before he knew what to do, he saw a blonde-haired woman come around the corner, who Yugi immediately recognized as his new friend, Kristi.

"Yugi?" Kristi whispered softly, standing on the upper landing. "Are you ready to come downstairs and meet everyone? I simply told everyone that a friend of mine was upstairs resting…"

She trailed off as Yugi smiled softly in the dim light. "It's alright Kristi, really, I am ready to come meet your friends…except…I don't know exactly what to say…"

"What do you mean, Yugi?" Kristi said, sounding both puzzled and concerned at the same time. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to. I never pressure anyone to talk about anything. And my friends understand! We're all the same way…" she said, as Yugi cut her off.

"I know what you mean," Yugi replied, frustrated he could not put his emotions in better words. "It's just, I came here to put my past behind me. I'm not ready to talk about it. I don't want people to know who I am even. I am rather famous in my past life."

"Well, what do you want to do then?" Kristi said.

Yugi flinched at her slightly abrasive words, but gave a smile anyways. "Just tell them," he said, walking past her, as he headed for the stairs, "that I'm like you, someone who has left an abusive family. As for what to call me…" he said, trailing off.

"You want to use a new name…?" Kristi said softly, her face softening.

"Not just use one," Yugi said, his face hidden in shadow, so Kristi couldn't see his eyes, as they began to burn, "but to get rid of my family's name."

"What would you like for your new name then?" Kristi replied quietly, as they stood, now ten feet apart, darkness and shadows separating them. "You said you want to start your new life…what kind of name would you like?"

"I know exactly what to be called," Yugi said. "Griffin Phoenix."

"Excuse me?" Kristi chuckled. "What?"

"Griffin," Griffin said, "is symbolic of royalty, of honor. I've never had that, Kristi. And Phoenix, phoenix refers to rebirth. A symbol of starting over."

"As you wish…Griffin," Kristi replied, walking past him down the stairs. _"If only you could understand, Yugi." _Kristi thought to herself, sadly.

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Griffin sighed deeply. Leaning against the wall of the hallway, as he heard Kristi bound down the steps, he put his hands in his pockets of his jeans and looked down at the floor.

_"I know its hard for Kristi to understand,"_ Griffin thought. _"But it's just not that easy. To forget about someone who has been a part of your soul for the last five, six years is no easy task. I just want to forget the past, something I never said I would do. I always would tell people like Kaiba how important the past was. But now..."_

Not willing to let his mind go back there, Griffin took another deep breath and walked the last five, long steps to the landing and began to descend down the long, spiral staircase.

The first thing he noticed as he walked down the stairs was the smell. A spicy, homey smell of good, hearty cooking. The next thing he noticed, three steps down, was the sound of music, the plunking of an old, out-of-tune piano, and as he took another four steps, he began to hear the voices. Happy voices, all blending together in the sound of hearty laughter, jovial talking, and sad attempts at singing in off-keyed pitches. Smiling in spite of himself, Griffin took the last few steps slowly, and shyly approached the front room, where he saw the silhouettes of four or five people sitting around the old grand piano in the middle of the room. Standing in the doorway, Griffin watched as the person at the piano threw up his hands in mock disgust as everyone around the person laughed appreciatively. Suddenly, the person at the piano stood up and pointed towards the doorway, towards Griffin.

"Hey, Kris!" the person, apparently a male from the voice bellowed out. "So is this your friend you said?" Walking around the piano, as Kristi got up from one of the chairs around the piano and walked over too, the male, a blonde-haired surfer look, wearing a tee-shirt and shorts and no shoes, who appeared to be about nineteen, held out his hand to Griffin. He was about the same height as him, around five foot, eight inches, with a big smile on his face. "Hey, I'm Joseph Taylor! Nice to meet you...Griffin, right?"

Kristi laughed. "He's a little A.D.D., yu...Griffin. He means no harm."

"It's no problem, really Kristi," Griffin replied, grabbing Joseph's hand in a warm handshake, noticing the man's eyes had a worn look to them, and his hands were deeply calloused. "Nice to meet you Joseph," he replied. "It is Griffin. Do you go by Joseph?"

Joseph smiled another warm smile. "You can just call me Joey if you want."

As the others around the piano began to get up and walk over to Joseph, Kristi, and Griffin, Griffin just froze. "How about, just...Joe?" he said flatly.

"That's no problem, if I can call you Griff!" Joe said playfully, punching Griffin playfully on the shoulder, as three others came up to them.

A brown-haired, larger woman, who looked in her late twenties was next. "Hello Griffin," she said warmly, as that of a mother. "Welcome to The Wayside. I am Kristi's older half-sister, Mahilo Novak." Griffin noticed, that although there was traces of beauty all around her, the wrinkles already showing around her eyes were that of someone much older. "I help Kristi run the shelter downtown."

Next came another blonde-haired woman, more blonde than Kristi, with a thin frame, and a laugh in her face. "I'm Trishta Garder, but you can call me Trish. I'm twenty-three and Kristi's best friend! I found her on the streets and we came together here!" As Griffin took her hand, he saw several thin, pale scars running up her right arm.

Bounding back, Trishta pushed forward another young man, this one looking just as shy as Griffin felt at this point, with dark brown, messy, unkept hair, with thick framed black glasses. "This is Seth Wagner, and he's really shy," Trish chimed.

"Trish!" Mahilo said quickly. "Give him a chance!" Laughing deeply, she went on, "I'm sure Griffin is just as overwhelmed with all of us."

To put Seth at ease, Griffin held out his hand towards him. "Nice to meet you Seth," he said quickly.

"Thanks, Griffin," Seth said softly, taking Griffin's hand softly.

As they were all standing there awkwardly, Kristi suddenly chimed up, "Well...Griffin, come over here and grab some food! My sister makes good food, especially today," she added, winking.

"Kristi texted me as soon as you landed, Griffin," Mahilo said, as they all walked back into the front room. "I made some real, down home American food. Even though we tend to eat some strange things here," she added, handing him a plate which she piled high with a hearty pot-roast and vegetables, fresh bread, and a slice of apple pie.

As they all sat down, Griffin ended up sitting next to Joe on the piano bench, as everyone else had already grabbed a second plate and was finishing eating. As he finished his own plate, Griffin began running his fingers up and down the worn keys. Not realizing everyone slowly putting down their plates and watching him, Griffin began playing little riffs on the keys, laughing quietly at his own amusement.

Snapping him out of his own stupor, was Joe, who tapped him on the shoulder. "Geez man," he said, "you are good! Where did you learn to play like that?"

Griffin lifted up his head from looking at his keys, to see everyone staring intently at him. Blushing slightly, he replied low, "I've played for about five years, it's something I picked up, as a way...to...block out the world," he said trailing off.

Kristi just nodded. "I forgot," she said. "He told me he played a little, when he was on the plane, but I had no idea...play us a song Griffin?"

The others nodded in agreement. "Come on!" they replied, "play us a little something!"

Joe moved off the bench as Grffin scooted over. Placing his hands on the keys, he began to play some riffs, nothing coming to him, however.

"I don't know what to play," he said apologetically, as he ran his fingers up and down with a few scales. "What is appropriate at like one in the morning?"

Mahilo spoke up. "Play from your heart, Griffin," she said softly. "Let your heart tell you..."

Griffin nodded. "I know, but I don't know what my heart is telling me. I'll give you a song however, a song that has always spoken to me."

Playing the opening bars, one by one, people began to smile as the recognized the notes of an old classic.

_Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me_

_I can't light no more of your darkness  
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white  
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me  
Frozen here on the ladder of my life_

_Too late to save myself from falling  
I took a chance and changed your way of life  
But you misread my meaning when I met you  
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light_

**_Don't let the sun go down on me  
__Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see  
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free  
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me  
_**

**___I can't find, oh the right romantic line  
But see me once and see the way I feel  
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm  
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal_**

**_Don't let the sun go down on me  
__Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see  
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free  
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me._**

From the nods he got, the tears in every eye including in his own, Griffin knew, he had finally played to his heart, and he was truely ready to move on.

_"I WON'T let the sun go down on me..."

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_

**A/N:** Wow, that took me a long time to write, and there is still more to this chapter. You'll see more soon! But a few remarks

1.) I try and be as accurate with time passing as I can, getting time to match up between chapters. If you realize, only about one day has actually passed.

2.) Again, I do NOT own the lyrics in this chapter!

3.) Check the names of the OCs. They are vague takes on the names of the english anime characters.

4.) Speaking of the OCs, let me recap them, just so we are clear.

Kristi Novak: early to mid twenties, platinum blonde hair and wireless glasses, first person to meet Griffin  
Joseph (Joe) Taylor: nineteen, surfer type, loud, confident, but worn look in his eyes and hands. (Name take on Joey and Tristan (taylor was his last name in the Anime)  
Mahilo Novak: older sister of Kristi, larger, brunette, not overweight though, helps run the shelter. Has wrinkles of someone in her fifties. (Name take on Mai Valentine)  
Trishta Garder: best friend of Kristi, very blonde, cuts on her arms. (Name take on Tea Gardener, but nothing like her, i Promise!)  
Seth Wagner: quiet, lonely type. Not much is known (yet). (Name play on Seto Kaiba)

I OWN my characters! But you are welcome to use them if you ask nicely ^_^.

Again, thanks for reviewing and reading! I WOULD like some more ideas, and inspiration (not that I don't have any, but the more ideas the better the appeal to the audience). So I'm going to ask for TEN (10), reviews before my next update, hopefully (but not necessarily) containing something besides "great story!" (even though I appreciate the unadulterated reviews like that too! ^_^). I'm just trying to make the story as appealing to everyone as I can.

SO UNTIL THEN...


	5. Lately I've been Running On Faith

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

**A/N:** _This is important. I have ideas for other stories, and I have been steadily getting less hits and reviews and interest. I still do appreciate the reviews and people that I have read this, but I want to start this new story Therefore, I am going to be taking a break from this story after this chapter, to start on my new story._

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

"Yami! Dude!" Joey said angrily, punching him on the shoulder as he stood up in haste. "What are you saying?! We gotta go after Yugi!"

The ex-pharaoh just shook his head sadly, dejectedly. Looking up, everyone was shocked to see tears pooling in Yami's deep, red eyes. With everyone too surprised to speak, Yami began, "You guys don't understand. I know Yugi better than all of you, probably even better than you, Grandpa," he said, turning to look the old man in the eyes.

Running his hands absentmindedly through his now limp hair, Yami continued, "Yugi…has been going through a lot…stressing out a lot about college and stuff…and now, this note…" he gestured to the now crumpled piece of paper on the coffee table, "has confirmed everything I had been worrying about."

Tea sat down next to Yami on the couch. "But what do you mean?" she said softly, gazing out the window as people walked past. "Yami, whenever we've been hanging out with him, with you, it's just…we know that you're the reason he's been, well…different lately!" she cried, blushing as the other's looked over at her darkly.

"Tea!" both Joey and Tristan said, looking over at her, as tears began to well up in her eyes. "We said we wouldn't…" Tristan said, trailing off as Joey shushed him.

"Joey," Yami started, "Tristan, Tea…what are you talking about?"

"Yami, listen to me," Joey said softly, lowering his voice upon seeing the pain in his friend's eyes. "We don't know why, but since we all see it, we know it's an issue. Why have you been avoiding him lately? We haven't all hung out together in weeks, months even! Seriously, with Yugi going away soon, we'd think that all you would want is to be around your hikari!"

"And," Tristan said, picking up for Joey. "just so you know, those 'plans' to go out to dinner last night with Grandpa? He made those. For you! He wanted to spend the night with you!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Yami said suddenly, putting up his hands. "What are you talking about? You guys wanted to take me out last night! You even said that we should go to more places!"

Joey smacked Yami hard on the arm. Angrily, he shouted, "Dude, we were in on the whole thing! We wanted to take you to where Yugi was! But you didn't want to! We couldn't get you to budge!"

Tristan nodded. "After you had your third, you became the most stuck-up, arrogant bastard…no wonder you beat up Yugi!"

Yami growled angrily, but was forcibly restrained by Tea and Joey and Grandpa. Gaining confidence, Tea then continued. "And Yami, after all Yugi's done for you, and with him going away, we all thought that the last thing you'd want would be to spend time away from him. You made him so happy, and he would do anything for you! And you totally took advantage of him! And now you can't even care enough to apologize!"

Tensions still rising in the room, now Solomon Moto opened his mouth. "Yami," he said sternly. "I took you in, I covered for you, I accepted you. You were the best thing for my grandson…so I thought. Even if you are so conceited to think you owe him nothing, you still owe me! Thanks to me, I brought the Puzzle to Yugi, setting you free!"

"Come on Yami!" Joey said. "Can't you see what we're trying to say?! Seriously, what is up with you man! You've been acting loopy for awhile, and now…"

Everyone jumped back in shock as Yami jumped to his feet, flipping the coffee table over as he ran out the front door. Everyone was in too much shock to notice the tears streaming down Yami's cheeks as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Good riddance!" Tristan said angrily, after everyone regained their breath.

Joey and Tea quietly turned the table up-right and picked up the papers that had fallen. Meanwhile, Tristan looked out the window, just in time to see the ex-pharaoh disappear down a side street out of sight.

As they sat down, Grandpa Moto let out a sigh as a single tear rolled down his cheek. As the young adults looked on in concern, the old man just waved a hand at them.

"I'll be okay…it's just, I've lost one grandson. Help me not lose my other one too…" he choked out, before breaking down in tears.

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Griffin looked out the window of his room, that overlooked the ocean from the large hill they were on. Snuggling down in the bay-seat, he gazed at the moon overlooking the water. A large, pale, full moon, on a still pane of water.

"_So much has happened," _ he thought to himself. It was now 3:57 AM, but because of the time change and his random napping, he was now wide awake. _"Everyone here is so nice…even if my friends at home were nice, there's something about this group of people. It's like they are a family. They all know what pain is like, something that my other friends could never relate to. They didn't know what it was like…"_

Hearing a soft knock at the door, Griffin turned his head, before responding softly, "Come in."

As the door slowly creaked open, Griffin strained to see through the dark who was walking in. The person had messy hair, and upon seeing the moon reflect off of the lenses, he responded, "Seth?"

The person let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the newcomer was awake. Walking over to the window, Seth Wagner sat down on the edge of the bed across from Griffin. The two of them sat there in the quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the silence.

"So…" Seth said, breaking the silence. "It is nice to meet you. I apologize for being kind of quiet earlier," he continued, in a low voice. "I'm just a little shy is all. Everyone here is so nice, but it's just that…"

Seth trailed off, looking past Griffin out the window. In the silence, Griffin understood and just nodded his head.

"You just don't feel like everyone understands," he replied. "Is that it?"

Laughing softly, Seth just smiled. "Yes, that is exactly it. But," he said, moving over to the bay-seat to sit across from Griffin, who was still staring off into the distance, "when I saw you, I don't know…I just felt like you knew what I was going through."

Griffin looked down at his lap, his legs drawn up to his chest. When he didn't respond, Seth just blushed.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I don't mean to impose at all…it's just…your song just really stuck with me and my emotions just got to me a little bit."

Griffin just held up a hand. "No no, it's okay. I promise you. You are totally right." Looking back out the window, over the ocean, towards Yami, he said, "It's just, no less than 48 hours ago, I said goodbye to everything I had ever known. The home I grew up in, the friends I have always known, the person I thought I loved…it's just a huge shock and it's all settling down on my shoulders right now." Unexpected tears welled in his eyes as he cleared his throat and continued. "People hurt me, and I came to America to start a new life. God bless you guys for opening your home to me," he said, voice now husky with emotion.

Seth just put a hand on Griffin's leg and smiled. "It will be okay, dude. You are among friends here."

Griffin looked up into Seth's eyes. He could see they were a very dark blue, warm and soft, speaking waves of trust and acceptance, as well as pain, more deeply buried behind the color.

Suddenly, Seth jumped up. "Listen, I…I…gotta go…I'll talktoyoulater," he muttered, dashing out of the room.

Griffin was too shocked to do anything but waved blankly as the door slammed shut.

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It was hot. The Summer Heat was still very oppressive, but Yami didn't notice it. He didn't notice the sweat rolling down his brow as he kept running. He didn't notice the headache still dully pounding in his brain from the night before. He didn't even know where he was going, just that he was running.

Still running.

When he finally began to slow down, he found himself in a back alley in the outskirts of town, down by the old textile mills and stock-yard. He could feel the cool breeze on his face as he pulled off the tunic he had on, before collapsing down on the pier, and then jumping in the water. As he surfaced and shook the water out of his hair, he climbed up the pier ladder and sat on the edge, water dripping down his face.

"_God, Yugi, what did you to me?"_ Yami thought, watching the sun slowly setting of the ocean water. _"What have you done to us?"_

A seagull crowed softly in the background, as the water gently lapped at the edge of the concrete. He was all alone. A lonely scene. The reddening sky making him feel nostalgic, Yami began to reflect on everything that had happened in the last five years.

(Three Years ago, 18th Birthday)

Yami's POV

'_It was a rainy day, but we were all at the Game Shop and it was Yugi's birthday, having just turned 18, so it was okay. He had just finished opening all of his gifts from us, except mine. I was planning on giving it to him, but I never really found the right time. We were just lounging around and talking, but then, Yugi asked us all to be quiet, because he had an announcement to make. As we all stopped talking, Yugi stood up, with a big smile on his face. I had no idea what it was about. He was smiling so I thought, 'hey, good news'. And it was. At first anyways. He told us that he was planning to start college in Tokyo, about an hour away. Everyone seemed really excited, except me. I was just sitting quietly, a small smile on my face. I was thrilled, just maybe not showing it. Maybe because I was tired from planning Yugi's party. Maybe it was because I knew we were still going out later that night. Maybe it was because I had been dueling a lot lately…I don't know. But that night was when all hell broke loose. Yugi came up to our room, after avoiding me all day. I asked him what was wrong and he just blew up at me. 'I never gave him a gift', 'I wasn't happy for him going to college', blah blah blah. It was the first time he had ever gotten this mad at me; our first real argument. I ended up spending the night at Joey's and just left his gift on the table. I don't even know if he ever opened it. It was some duel cards that he had wanted, but I never saw him use them._

_Now that I think about it, he never dueled after that…_

(Two Years ago, Christmas)

_Yugi was done with his first semester of college. He ended up just taking night classes and living at home. I thought I would be happy having my hikari around, but he was just so moody lately, so I just avoided him all the time. He was honestly no fun to be around. Everything I said he was taking as me snapping at him. But it was Christmas time and he finally seemed to be looking up. And I was happy too. I was involved in another tournament and had literally just qualified for the finals in Seoul, South Korea. So for Christmas, I wanted to take him on a trip. I bought him a ticket and that was going to be my gift to him for Christmas. After everyone had left and we were alone, I told him about the tournament and that I wanted him to come with me. God, I was at least glad I told him I had GOTTEN him a gift earlier, so he couldn't blow up at me for that. I mean, I was taking a big chance being around him, just the two of us…but instead of being happy, he just got all quiet and made excuses about having school and that he couldn't go. I was hurt. Because he had two weeks off. He could've gone. But he didn't want to spend time with me._

_I ended up dropping out of the tournament, telling Yugi that I had been disqualified for having Egyptian God Cards in my deck, even though they were legal (Kaiba had seen to that). He didn't press me for more details, and just didn't talk to me about it at all. I was crushed. I really was, because it showed to me my hikari didn't care. _

(Three Months ago, Spring)

_We both had our own friends, our own hobbies now. We just kind of lived in the same house, and it killed me. I felt that my hikari truly didn't love me anymore. He had never said that he did…but still, there's just that bond that was severed. And then Yugi drops the biggest bombshell. Not only is he going back to school full time, but he's going to go to America for it; to the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was so happy, I hadn't seen that sparkle in his eyes in a long time. But I was crushed because he didn't talk to me about it beforehand. I didn't even know if he talked to anyone else. Until I realized he did, because he said that he had 'finally made a decision' and that he was 'glad that everyone had been giving him a lot of advice'. I realized that everyone else was in on it except me. God, did I even exist? Why did I choose to stay here, when I would be deserted like this? Yugi showed that he was able to stand on his own by defeating me. But I chose to stay. Why?_

(Normal POV)

Yami sighed. Everyone thought he was just a terrible person for not wanting to go after his aibou. But he knew Yugi needed time away from him. Yami knew he messed up, and to go after him now would be a mistake. They say that sometimes you need to let go of the people you love the most.

Yami had to do that now.

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**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed! The story is on hiatus for now, to see if interest picks up for this story. Maybe by **40 reviews**…I'm not sure. But be on the lookout for new stories…

Thanks so much reading!


	6. I'm Still Standing

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

**Info:** Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

**A/N:** _WOW…all I had to do was see if people were still interested and suddenly everyone responds. That's awesome, so I wanna reward you all with this update! So long as there is interested, I will UPDATE_ :)

ALSO, there is a slightly racy scene in this chapter, be forewarned…

Basically in this chapter, you hear a little more of how Yugi's former friends feel about him and Yami, and how Griffin is finally tackling some demons in his mind, and also how HE has viewed the last five years.

* * *

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

The heat can cause people to do delusional things. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hell, people can die from the heat. Of course people go crazy because of the heat! It's well known.

So of course, when Yami came back, dripping in sweat, eyes red and swollen, out of breath and hoarse, babbling incoherently, all thoughts of anger towards the ex-pharaoh were forgotten as they helped him to the couch, put a cold-pack on his forehead and got him a glass of lemonade. Once the ex-pharaoh had regained his supposed sanity however, the grilling began again.

Tea was first.

"Okay, so are you going to tell us where you went off to?"

Then came Joey.

"You freak out because Yugi runs off then you do the same thing? Come on man!"

Tristan.

"Are you okay dude? Seriously. Snap out of it! Own up a little!"

And finally, Solomon Moto.

"Don't make this any more difficult on me, Yami. This is already a hard enough day as it is."

Yami just sat there. He was tired of running, tired of the lies, tired of being the big, tough guy. He was so busy protecting his hikari, he had failed to see how his little light had grown into a proud, confident man all on his own. While everyone was swarming around him, suddenly the overwhelming nature of the situation hit the ex-pharaoh.

"Enough!" Yami cried, throwing up his hands. Lowering his voice back down, he went on in a dejected tone. "Listen. I know you guys think I am a terrible person for what I did. I made a mistake, and I can't fix the past. But," he continued, as everyone began to interject again, "my hikari and I share a bond. Because of the puzzle," he said. _"And something deeper," _ he thought to himself.

"But Yami," Joey started.

"No, Joey, please. Let me finish," Yami said quietly, holding up a hand. "I know Yugi is hurt. I am not denying that. But think. I don't know where he is. I can't find him. And he needs time away. I respect him enough to give it to him. You may call me cruel," he said, as Tea started on him fiercely, "but this is what he needs." _"And what I need, time to process my thoughts,"_ he thought too.

Standing up, Yami concluded, "You can't force Yugi to do anything; to listen, to come back. That was my mistake. We've been so protective, we haven't seen what a self-confident man he's become. He's gotta do this on his own. He showed, five years ago, that he was ready to be on his own. But I forced myself on him, and now I have to live with the consequences. If he comes back on his own, then I know that our relationship can be repaired. But if not…then he made his own choice, and I can't change that. I know you guys are mad at me. And you have every right to kick me out, and never speak to me again, for making Yugi leave you all. But I just ask that you forgive me. Please."

Looking around them with glistening eyes, pleading eyes, Yami slowly walked out of the room up to his and Yugi's room.

As he walked away, the four remaining people downstairs looked around at each other in shock and distress, not knowing the right move to make next. It was going on seven o'clock, and they had spent the whole day worrying about Yugi, and now about Yami disappearing, and tempers were running high.

"So what do you propose we do now guys?" Tristan said, breaking the silence. "You heard _your majesty_…"

"Oh shut up Tristan," Tea snapped, crossing the room and sitting down in a chair, rubbing her head. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to be the irresponsible one in case something happens to Yugi, but on the flip side, Yami's right, Yugi chose this path for himself and-"

"So what, we just let my little buddy get robbed, mugged or killed?!" Joey said angrily. "You're saying it's his fault! Admit it!"

"Joey-" Solomon Moto started, but the blonde kept going.

"I know we have to give Yugi freedom, but if he's in a bad way, then that is more important!"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "How do you propose we FIND Yugi then, Joey? Apart from one airplane ticket to America, we have no idea. San Francisco is a huge city, and we don't even know if he went there!"

Tea continued. "So do you just not care Tristan? Is that what you're saying, because the problem is too big just don't come up with any solution?"

"That's not what Tristan mean, Tea," Solomon said, jumping in. "He just meant-"

"I don't care what he meant at this point!" Tea shouted, throwing up her hands in disgust. "At least I want a plan. A PLAN! Tristan can't even come up with a plan!"

"What, Tea, your grandiose plan of just letting him get KILLED out there is so wonderful, isn't it!" Joey snapped. "Maybe no plan IS the best plan, compared to yours!"

"You know very well that is NOT what I mean, Joseph!" Tea snapped back. "If you want to go gallivanting off to god-knows-where with NO PLAN, then go right ahead! I'm just saying we need to be smart about this!"

They continued to bicker as Yami sank into his mattress upstairs and began to bawl like a baby. Thinking about all the trouble he had caused, the pain that he had somehow caused Yugi; it was just too much to bear. Shutting his eyes and putting the pillow over his head, Yami sank into a fevered and exhausted slumber.

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As the sunlight began to stream through the big bay window, Griffin slowly blinked and opened his eyes. Yawning slowly while stretching his arms to get the soreness out of his body, he slowly sat up and glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. Only 6:30, but that's what's to be expected in the middle of summer. Griffin rolled off the bench and blearily stumbled over to the bed he had not slept in, grabbing his bag on the floor. Rubbing his eyes, he sat down heavily and opened the bag, searching through the clothing in his bag. Pulling out a baggy tee and khaki shorts, he put the bag back down on the floor and headed out into the hallway.

"_Now where was the bathroom again?"_ Griffin thought, looking up and down the quiet hallway. Even though he had gone to bed only a few hours ago, he began to feel revitalized. With a spring in his step, he began to walk slowly to the left, the other way was leading downstairs. There were three doors before him, one on the left, one on the right, and one at the very end. Heading for the door at the very end, he began with that one, slowly opening it. Upon opening however, he saw only another staircase, heading up to what appeared to be an attic. Shutting it slowly, Griffin winced as the door stuck, and then slammed shut. Jumping back quickly, he almost didn't notice that Joe had appeared behind him.

"Damn!" Griffin cursed in surprise, as he jumped back again, upon seeing Joe no more than five inches from his backside. "You surprised me!"

"Sorry, sorry," Joe muttered, hiking up the towel around his waist a little tighter, as water dripped down his hair. Looking Griffin in the eye, and then noticing the clothing under his arm, he said, "Shower's open," motioning to one of the other closed doors behind him.

"Thanks," Griffin said quickly, moving past the half-clothed young man, who slowly disappeared behind the other closed door, the neighboring room to Griffin's.

"If you need anything else," Joe called, "I'll be up now, I'm a morning person."

"_Thanks, I guess?"_ Griffin thought strangely, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

Griffin set his clothes down on the toilet seat and quickly turned on the hot water tap for the shower. As the water began to heat up and the air became steamy, Griffin stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain shut. Shutting his eyes, he slowly began to massage his scalp, pushing away all the stresses of everything that had happened the last few days. The more he pushed, the more he began thinking of home, of the people he had left behind. Silent tears mixed with the water streaming down his head and body, as he leaned back into the wall of the shower.

"God, oh god…" he murmured softly, emotions and passions and lust and heartache and exhaustion and pain and all other emotions all pouring down him in a torrent of steam and water. Before he knew what he was doing, he was down on his knees, panting from the release his body had unconsciously caused him to give. As he slowly stood up and washed away the traces of his release, his mind began to clear, pushing away more history out of his head, helping free him from his past.

Finishing quickly, Griffin was too busy to notice the silhouette of the person from behind the curtain silently dart out and bound down the hall and down the staircase. But he did notice, as he stepped out the door slightly unlatched.

Quickly toweling off and throwing on his clothes, Griffin took off back to his room and bounded down the stairs to see who was standing at the bottom, but by the time he reached the foyer, the person was long gone.

Sighing, Griffin headed down the hallway on the first floor towards the dining room he had seen the night before. Passing other closed doors he assumed were bedrooms, he entered the large room, covered in a mish-mash of dishes, stacks of papers and files, a laptop, a jacket draped over a chair, some photos, a few books and magazines and a large, dying plant in the center, clearly a sad attempt at a centerpiece. Chuckling in spite of himself; at the clear personalities displayed on this one piece of furniture, Griffin proceeded to the kitchen, where he found the remains of last night's dinner sitting in the sink. Now sighing, Griffin stripped off the tee shirt he was wearing, as to not get grime on it, and proceeded to begin scrubbing the dishes, as he had done many times before…

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(Flashback, 6 months ago, normal POV)

_Watching the snow fall over the early-evening dusk of wintertime Domino from the kitchen window, Yugi was scrubbing away at the pots and pans left in the sink from Christmas dinner. Sighing softly, he added more hot water to the sink and pushed up his sleeves up further. It had been a not-so-good Christmas. He and Yami had sunk to a new low in the form of gift giving, a practice that had grown more pathetic between the two of them over the years, to the point of Yugi giving him a card with a few bills tucked crudely in it, to Yami giving Yugi some old duel cards he knew that Yugi already had. But they put on a show for Grandpa, convincing the old man how much they still cared, even though to everyone else (and to Solomon himself, although he did not let on) the façade was mediocre at best. _

_Christmas dinner was eaten in relative silence, with only a few passing remarks about the snowy weather, and then Yami dismissed himself after touching little, to go for a walk out in the snow, leaving Yugi to do the dishes while Solomon went to take a nap (with the help of narcotics to dull the heartache of his two grandsons). _

_It was going on 6:00 PM and Yami had been gone for several hours. Looking out at the snow blowing wisps across the road, Yugi began to feel anxious. _

"_Where the hell is he?" Yugi thought anxiously, glancing out at the reddish tint thrown off by the lonely street lights, to see if Yami's tall silhouette would come through the gloom. "It's getting late, and I am sick of scrubbing these GODDAMN pans!"_

_Throwing down the scrubbing pad with a splash in to the long-cooled dishwater, Yugi slumped to the kitchen floor, angry tears clouding his eyes, too much so, as to notice the back door fly open and the ex-pharaoh come bumbling in._

"_Yugi!" the deep baritone called out in alarm, walking over to the hikari on the floor, but already Yugi was rising to his feet and turning himself back to the dishes. _

"_What?" Yugi said tiredly. "I am FINE."_

_Yami just froze. "I'm…sorry…?" he said confused. "Is it wrong if I worry if my hikari is hurt?"_

"_Oh shut up Yami," Yugi now snapped. "It's not like you cared when it came to a gift or something or acting right in front of Grandpa!"_

_The ex-pharaoh's dander now up, he fired back. "Seriously? Seriously?! On Christmas? You are pulling this bull-shit on me NOW? What the hell, Yugi? What the hell did I do to you?"_

_Again throwing down the scrubbing pad, this time with enough force to spray water over the kitchen, Yugi turned around and looked the ex-pharaoh in the eye, eyes that showed an inordinate amount of childish patience, as one a parent would have for a naughty child. A look just enough to set off a firestorm inside Yugi. _

"_You…" he stammered, the emotion shaking his very body. "You know exactly what I am talking about! How you leave me all the time, like you did after dinner! You never want to do anything and whenever I ask you about ANYTHING you speak to me like I'm a little child who can't even take care of himself!"_

_Yami just stared, shocked at how his hikari was speaking, how he felt. As Yugi turned his back around to the sink, Yami just stood there, silent. As Yugi silently began scrubbing dishes with even more force, Yami walked up behind him and just wrapped him in a hug from behind. Yugi just froze, not struggling, but not responding either. Yami just whispered softly, "How did it come to this…?"_

_Yugi just responded as softly…sadly, "I don't know…", before gently breaking free and walking out of the room. _

(End Flashback)

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The tears flowing freely again, Griffin just stood in front of the sink, hands shaking as he gently washed the last dish and set it in the drying wrack, before heading back down the hall, past the stairs, into the secluded study Kristi had led him to the first night he had arrived, before sinking into one of the chairs, tears flowing down his cheeks, dripping onto his bare chest, as his mind worked to conquer one more demon. Too much absorbed, to notice the figure hidden in the shadows of the staircase, peering down at the heartbreaking sight, just as they had peered in at the erotic sight in the shower.

"Oh Griffin…"

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**A/N:** How was THAT for a cliff-hanger ending? There is more to come, so long as interest stays up! Basically, I am going to say, that once I get say…**10 reviews per Chapter** I will know enough people want me to continue to the next one. I will keep plugging away if there is interest! So can we get it up to **50 TOTAL reviews** then…?

I really DO appreciate all the people who read this, however. Hit's mean something too! But reviews tell me if people LIKE what they read, so PLEASE review! I love new ideas, thoughts, even criticism! I'll take it all! Just be nice :)

So until next time…

I will give a preview to the NEXT chapter from now on… You don't know WHERE this is from in the chapter, or necessarily what the premise or background is….

Basically, I'm writing the whole thing in _italics_ to distinguish this is a preview, and the "…" (ellipses, for those of you who are grammar majors), symbolize TIME BREAKS in the preview, not moments of anticipation like they normally mean…except in the one quote at the end.

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CHAPTER SEVEN PREVIEW

_Griffin gasped in shock at the sight before him, of the naked body now walking towards him…_

"_Please, PLEASE," he gasped in agony. "STOP!" but it only continued, with more force, with more angst…_

_Glancing at the TV screen, Griffin suddenly gasped. "He did WHAT?!" he shouted, causing everyone to jump…_

"_Oh no! Guys…I think…he's dead…"_

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All fun things to look forward too! Review review review! And Chapter Seven will be here before you know it!


	7. Happy Birthday, Hikari Pt1

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

Info: Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

A/N: **Thank you ALL for the reviews!!! I love you all! I will CONTINUE WORK on this one, thanks to your loyalty!**

**Let me explain something about this chapter before you read it. A LOT of time passes very quickly in this chapter, and for convenience sake, I will not be writing with as much detail in some spots as you've come to expect. This is so I could get this chapter out as fast as I could.**

**Also, you see very little of the characters back in Japan, so this may seem VERY "AU" in this chapter, to which I apologize. I have to get a lot of back-story out of the way sigh.**

**Oh and there's another sex scene-ish thing too, as a reward to all you faithful reviewers snigger**

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Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

_Quote talking_-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

Griffin sniffed. Wiping away all the tears from his face, setting his jaw fiercely, he stood up with a new resolve and walked out the front door to face the rising sun. Taking a deep breath and smelling the early morning air, he slowly walked around the wrap-around porch and settled in the wicker porch swing. Thoughts of contentment overtaking him, he was unaware of the footsteps coming from his other side, as someone settled in next to him.

"Hey…good morning," Set said softly, staring at the cup of coffee in his hand.

Griffin was startled but didn't respond right away. When he didn't, Seth continued in a hoarse whisper, "Listen, I'm sorry about last night…I was just…tired, okay?"

Griffin just nodded silently, glancing over at the man sitting next to him, pale and tired, but with a sense about him…

Seth continued on, "If you just let me explain…it's just that…I had never had anyone talk to me like the way you did last night…I felt like someone really cared…"

"What?" Griffin responded suddenly. Realizing how harsh that could've sounded, on seeing Seth slightly cringe, he lowered his voice. "Don't you feel like everyone else cares? I mean, everyone is really nice and stuff and…"

Seth took another sip of coffee and just shook his head. "No, no…Everyone is very nice to me. I love all of my friends here. But still…everyone knew each other before I came here. I mean, Kristi had her best friend Trishta, and then Joe moved in with them, and Mahilo is Kristi's sister, and yeah…the four of them found me when someone…left me on the street and Mahilo found me on the way home from the shelter and I just, was here. I was the outsider, no matter what they did to make me feel included. They never left me out, but I always felt like the 5th wheel. Then you came along, and I just felt like you knew what I was going through. Someone who could relate to me, someone who cared about me, someone who…was like me"

Griffin just nodded, not trusting his voice, as a large lump seemed to have risen in it, restricting his airflow. Taking a deep breath and opening and closing his mouth several times, he started slowly, "If I had know why people had done what they did to me, I would have a sense of understanding…a sense of closure. But I don't. And to me, trusting people is hard. I've come to terms with the fact that the only person you can trust is yourself. Why do you trust me, when you barely know me?"

Seth smiled shyly and leaned back into the swing, pushing back slowly with his bare feet. Looking over at Griffin, he responded simply, "Because I do."

And with that, he stood up, walked past Griffin and back in the front door.

With a puzzled look on his face, Griffin shifted in his seat and began to ponder what Seth had said, as the sun slowly crept up the hill, overlooking the city below. He stayed that way until Mahilo stuck her head out the door and called for breakfast an hour later.

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As everyone sat around the dining room table (mess momentarily pushed to the side), eating a variety of different items to suit the varied taste, Kristi looked up from the file she was going over and turned to Griffin who was sitting across the table from him.

"Today," she said, setting down her cereal spoon and taking a swig of orange juice, "you are going to earn your keep here." Seeing the puzzled and slightly worried expression on his face, she continued, "You are coming with Mahilo and myself down to the shelter. You can meet some of the people there, and then we'll send you on to the men's shelter down the road to work there with Seth."

Griffin shot Seth a slightly puzzled look. "Didn't he say they found him on the streets?", but Seth just kept eating his grapefruit and reading the paper, not giving any acknowledgement of his name being said.

Mahilo continued in her gentle voice, "You will enjoy working there, Griffin. The people you meet in these places are some of the most interesting people you ever work with. Everyone has a story to tell, and as soon as they know you come from The Wayside, they will instantly want to sit and talk with you."

Griffin nodded. "But what about Trishta and Joseph? And what do you mean, people know I'm from The Wayside?"

Joe piped up, "I am going to college right now; I am in my second year at San Francisco University to become a counselor, on a scholarship, and work a few nights at a coffee shop in town."

"And I'm a maid during the day and then I spend the afternoons and evenings here, doing God-knows-what around The Wayside," Trishta added, popping down another sausage.

"When you tell people you are from The Wayside, they will want to tell you their story. Just listen!" Kristi said, snapping her laptop shut and downing the last of her orange juice. Rising from the table, she motioned for Griffin to stand. "We have to get going if we're going to catch the bus on time," she said. "Belvedere is banned from having any stores or anything, so we have to walk to Tiburon, the next town over."

Everyone got to their feet and began clearing up the dishes, just leaving them in the sink, causing Griffin to sigh at the thought of washing again. Everyone walked down the hall back towards the foyer, with people darting into rooms along the hallway, grabbing shoes or jackets out of closets and bedrooms, and making last minute trips to the bathroom.

Once everyone was assembled in the foyer, Kristi opened the front door and everyone filed out, with her locking the door behind her. The six of them trekked down the front walk and out the iron gate, which Kristi also locked behind them. Walking and enjoying the early morning warm weather, the friends headed down the hill towards a day of work.

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(Seven Days Later)

Griffin yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was already 10:17 in the morning. Wondering why he was not woken up to go work today, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and opened the dresser drawer to pull out some clothes.

He grabbed a black tank and shorts and headed out into the still and silent hallway. No noise came from the direction of the stairwell, so peering out, he called, "Hello?"

No response came, so grabbing his clothes, he took the back way down through the hidden stairs to the study, where he found a note waiting for him taped to the front door.

Dear Griffin,

Happy birthday! You are finally 21! We are giving you the day off to let you sleep in and do whatever you please. There are gifts from all of us on the dining room table; feel free to open them now because there are more later when we come to take you out tonight! Seth left with us this morning but is coming back to take you around town or whatever you care to do today. Don't worry, he volunteered for the job. Just be sure you're back by 5:00 tonight!

You are a great guy and we want to make sure you feel welcome. What better way then to celebrate your 21st birthday with him? See you tonight!

Sincerely,

Kristi, Mahilo, Trishta, Joe, and Seth.

Now grinning broadly, he took the note and went into the kitchen, where he did indeed find some brightly colored boxes. Setting his clothes down on the table, he went to open them, to find some new clothes, a watch, a new journal, and some gift cards and money. Setting these all aside, he reached for the box he had saved for last, the one whose handwriting he had immediately recognized on the label. Opening the card first, he began to read:

Dearest Griffin,

This has been a crazy week in your life and I don't want to upset you with this gift. But I could tell when I first met you that this would be something you would treasure forever. Happy birthday friend,

Kristina K. Novak

Tearing off the wrapping paper with a puzzled look on his face, Griffin took the small box and carefully lifted the lid. Upon seeing what was inside, tears formed at the corners of his eyes, but a smile came to his face nonetheless. It did upset him, but at the same time…

Gathering up everything, he went back upstairs to take the shower, and to think…

When he was done with his shower, he slipped on his clothes and headed downstairs, where he was greeted to the sight of Seth in the kitchen, reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. Upon seeing Griffin, he looked up from his paper and smiled.

"Happy birthday, friend," Seth said warmly. "I see you are up and ready to go?" When Griffin nodded, Seth downed the rest of his coffee and motioned for Griffin to follow him to the foyer.

"So where are we going?" Griffin asked, as they headed out the door and down the main walk.

Seth replied, "You'll see. Not much is going on right now…but we have a surprise for you later, and us guys would like to take you out tonight. But first," he said, looking up the road and nodding, "I get to take you out to lunch and show you around San Francisco!"

A taxi pulled up to the front gate as if on cue, and the two friends got in, to spend a day together seeing the city, and enjoying his newfound freedom.

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As the moon rose higher and higher in the sky, his hopes diminished more and more.

"I guess you're not coming back then, huh Yugi…" he whispered hoarsely, looking at the empty bed across from him. Walking over to it, the ex-pharaoh set a crudely wrapped small box on the pillow.

"Happy birthday, my hikari…"

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The cab pulled back up to The Wayside at promptly 4:45 PM, and Seth and Griffin hopped out, grabbing bags they had acquired over the day, full of silly things they had bought, full of USA clothing, full of memories of a happy day. Walking up the drive, Griffin reflected on the last seven days.

"God, I am so happy here. These people have gone out of the way to make me feel accepted and whole and loved. I could never have expected to meet people like this; they are amazing. I don't know anyone who would ever give this much of themselves for me. And Seth, he's like my best friend now. He knows exactly how to relate to me, and to make me feel…complete. I have never had anyone feel as though they complete me that well, ever since-"

"SURPRISE!" came the cry of four voices in front and one from behind him, as he stepped over the threshold of the house, as Kristi, Joe, Trishta, and Mahilo jumped out from behind objects and Seth spooking him from behind. "Happy birthday, Griffin!"

Griffin burst out laughing, a genuine smile gracing his face, as all of his friends surrounded him in a hug, all trying to pull him a different way.

"Thank you guys, seriously," he said, chuckles still interspersed in his speech. "You guys have done more than enough to make me feel as much a part of this family as possible."

"And the fun doesn't end here!" Trishta smiled, bounding up and down with excitement. "Come on, put down your stuff, our ride will be here in a minute!"

"Our ride…what?" Griffin said puzzled, as, before he knew it, Seth and Joe hoisted him up on their shoulders while the girls grabbed bags full of gifts and balloons and marched him down the drive.

"Guys! Seriously!" Griffin laughed, as they all bounded down the drive, to the point where they nearly dropped him. "What is going on?!"

"Just look dude!" Joe said, pointing with one hand, and almost succeeding in dropping Griffin on the ground, had it not been for Kristi to sacrifice her dignity to do a running grab to keep him from hitting the ground.

"Joseph!" she said severely, before bursting out into laughter, causing everyone else to start laughing again, to the point where no one noticed the stretch limo pulling up.

"Oh, guys!" Griffin said, exasperated and overjoyed all at the same time. "You seriously didn't have to do this for me!"

As the girls pushed each other as to be the first one in, Joe just shrugged. "Well, when I turn 21, then they'll have to do even one better, so I don't care! Now come on, Griff! Let's get going! We can't start the REAL fun until we loose the girls so hurry up!"

They all hopped into the limo and sped off towards San Francisco in the setting sunlight. As they drove, Kristi grabbed a bottle out of the bar and opened it. Pouring six flutes of champagne, she proposed a toast. "To Griffin Phoenix, new friends, new country, new life! Happy 21st Birthday!"

To cheers of "hear, hear!", Griffin downed his flute and looked around contently at everyone, smiling at him.

"So," he started, twirling the flute around in his fingers, "Where are we going tonight?"

Kristi was the first to respond. "We are taking you to one of the nicest restaurants in the city, The Restaurant Gary Danko, to toast you some more," she said, with a sparkle in her eyes.

Mahilo continued. "We have more gifts for you there, and then I believe the boys want to take you out, but it can't be too bad, because Joe is only nineteen," she said, teasingly.

Joe whispered to Griffin, "Don't worry, I have a plan.", before looking up and saying to all, "Yeah, and then, we have cake and ice cream back at the house, if we make it back before daybreak!"

The car sped off towards the city lights, as the friends continued talking. Upon arriving at the restaurant, they were escorted to a private table, where they were treated to the finest steaks and seafood imaginable. Sitting back at the table, warm, full, and content from the alcohol now flowing through his veins, Griffin started, "Now tell me, because this has always wondered me. How do you all afford this, and the house, and everything else nice that you have given me?"

"Oh that's easy, Griff," Joe said lazily. "We inherited The Wayside. Well, Kristi did, and we all kinda came along, right Kris?"

Kristi nodded, setting down her napkin before going on. "One of the people who I saw by the shelter one day was a total vagabond by sight; totally looked the part. I stopped and talked to him, and invited him in for a hot meal, and to just visit with me for a while. Mind you, this was maybe only three or four days after I started working there, long before we all lived together. But anyways, after we had talked for a while and we were beginning to close up, he stood up abruptly and motioned for me to follow him out front. He told me," she said, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes at the memory, "that he was only looking for a person to talk to. He told me he had all the money in the world and that he wanted to give it to me, to better the lives for other people. I was so shocked, until he gave me an envelope, containing a will. He went on to tell me that he was very sick with AIDS and how his family had disowned him, and that in his death, he could make someone's life better. Sure enough, a few days later, the shelter told me he had passed in his sleep. Unsure of what to make of it, I went down to the lawyer's office and sure enough, he was worth millions of dollars, and had indeed left it to the holder of his will, which was I. This house was his, and all of his money, promised so long as we kept helping other people, which we have. Now we are doing the same for you!"

Griffin just smiled, unbelieving again at the amount of generosity these people had for others. They could use the money to fix up The Wayside, or even buy a better house, or better clothing, but instead, they helped other people.

Suddenly, Joe stood up. "Okay, ladies, we'll do gifts later, but now, it's time for guy's night!"

With protests the women slowly rose to their feet, as Joe and Seth marched Griffin out the door back to the limo, with him barely able to say thank you and good-bye. As soon as they were back in, Griffin exclaimed, "Was that really necessary?"

The guys nodded, as Joe grabbed a black cloth and Seth pinned him to the seat.

"Hey! Hey!" Griffin shouted, taken aback. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, as they slipped the blindfold over his eyes.

"Relax, dude, seriously," Seth said next to him, as the limo began to move. "We are promising you a lot of fun, so don't worry!"

"We are going to party like MEN now!" Joe said, sniggering, as they sped off into the darkness.

Huffing, Griffin leaned back into his seat, as they drove on for another fifteen minutes, before the limo began to slow down.

"We're here!" they announced, as they dragged the birthday boy out of the limo and up the sidewalk. Griffin could hear the thumping beats of music coming from in front of him, as the two marched him forward and into a building. Sitting him down on a plush booth, the two made hand motions as they carefully removed the blindfold.

"What the…Oh MY GOD," Griffin gasped at the sight before him, of the naked body now walking towards him, waving an assortment of feathers and fans over her curvy frame.

The guys just laughed at the reddening of Griffin's face as the dancer moved closer and further away, taunting and teasing the now hopelessly hypnotized man sitting between them.

"Guys…"he stuttered, breathless. "So…uh…umm," he said, swallowing hard as the exotic dancer moved again between his legs, bending down so her breasts were just inches from his face. Unconsciously adjusting himself, he looked hopelessly at his two friends next to him, who themselves were now much too far gone then to notice anything around them, entertained by the woman in front of them.

The woman began to tickle Griffin's face with her feathers, as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as the stripper began to slowly work her way down to Griffin's pants…

With one last glance over at his friends, who were now well-too-occupied with their own arousals to do anything, Griffin leaned back as the woman slowly undid his belt. Pulling out his arousal, he began to slowly work at himself, as the woman's breasts got closer and further from him. The flashing lights, the pounding music, the eroticism from the heat was swirling around him, in a fiery dance, teasing him, pulling him closer…closer….The moans from his friends and from the stripper whispering words of lust driving him to the point-of-no-return; the release was enough to temporarily cause the room to go dark, unaware to notice the lust in Seth's eyes, or the struggle Joe had in getting him to his feet from all the alcohol in his system, before the finally getting him out and back onto the sidewalk.

Stumbling slightly, but still standing, Griffin spoke first. "Whoa…" he muttered, heading back towards the waiting limo. "That was intense dudes…I don't really know WHAT to say, seriously…but…that was AWESOME!"

The two others burst out laughing with him, slapping high-fives with him as they hopped back into the limo, riding back to The Wayside…

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**A/N: Okay, seriously, this is such a lame chapter, trying to write back-story is SO lame. This is only part of the chapter, so I'll get the other posted soon, but this was so long already I just wanted to be done with it. Just review and I'll get it up soon!**

**I'll only ask for FIVE reviews for this one, so up to 55 reviews before the new chappy!**

**And again, I'm so sorry about how lame this was!**


	8. Happy Birthday, Hikari Pt2

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

Info: Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

* * *

A/N: **Okay, so the LOGIN/UPDATE/LACK OF REVIEW blackout seems to be over… YAY! The good news is I was able to get this chapter (more of a part 2) done right away.**

**ENJOY!!! **

**Oh and, you get your romance scene in this chapter. Pooh.

* * *

**

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

Quote talking-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

When the guys got back to The Wayside, the girls had already set up the table with cake, ice cream, balloons, streamers, gifts, and other assortments of party favors. By the time everyone had settled down, had their fun and gone to bed, the sun was already starting to creep over the hill again, forcing everyone to decide to take the next day off from work and school, to just enjoy each other's company.

Griffin got up from the chair he was dozing in, in the front room with everyone else, and put down the dirty plate that was in his lap from the party. Yawning and stretching, he slowly walked around the room and gathered up the remains from the night before, being quiet as to not disturb his friends in various states of disarray around the room, still in slumber.

Carrying the dishes to the kitchen, he set them down on the counter, too tired to wash them. Sighing, he put on a pot of coffee while glancing over at the kitchen clock. 7:01. Stumbling into the bathroom, he splashed some water on his face, looking himself over in the mirror.

"_God, I look terrible,"_ he thought silently, opening the medicine cabinet to look for a razor. Already the shadow of a beard and mustache showing, he methodically lathered on shaving cream, while cursing under his breath at the lack of a razor. Walking quickly out of the bathroom and back down the hallway towards the front room, he jumped back suddenly as Seth came around the corner, glasses in hand as he rubbed the sleep from his face, just in time to get shaving cream all over him.

"God, you scared me," Griffin muttered, lifting his hands to wipe the cream off of Seth's face. "Hey, do you have a razor I can borrow?"

"Yeah," Seth said quickly, walking past him back down the hallway. Motioning to one of the closed doors, he opened it, indicating Griffin to follow him. "I should, around here," he called, voice muffled from his closet, where he was digging. But Griffin was too preoccupied with Seth's room to pay any attention.

Duel Monsters, if not dominated, certainly held a large interest in Seth's world. Cards strewn about his desk, an empty duel disk box in the corner, and several frames on the wall with awards from local and even some regional titles. But those weren't even what caught his eye.

What caught his eye was an old photo.

A photo of Yugi Moto from five years ago, having just won the KC Grand Prix. Griffin's breath hitched before he even knew it, looking at himself from five years ago, now with the image of his face he had just seen in the mirror that morning side-by-side in his mind. He had certainly aged, to where Seth wouldn't see the resemblance, but to the people he knew back in Japan, he'd be instantly recognizable.

"Here's the razor dude," Seth said brightly, holding up the plastic and metal stick to Griffin's face. "Hello? You in there, buddy?" he said, tapping Griffin on the nose.

Griffin just shook his head out of his stupor. "Yeah, sorry, zoning there for a minute," he said, taking the razor. As they walked back out and Griffin headed back to go shave, he said suddenly, "So I see you like Duel Monsters?"

Seth nodded. "It's not one of my prouder moments, I mean, everyone else knows and the tournament money comes in handy sometimes, but yeah, I'm an okay duelist, played for a few years."

Pulling the razor across his face, Griffin sputtered through the foam, "Hmm. I've dueled a bit in my day too, haven't played in a long time, however," he added, now grabbing a towel to wash off. Pulling off his shirt he grabbed his clothes he had brought down with him. "Now get out," he said jokingly. "I need to take a shower."

Seth just shrugged. "Hey, I need to get ready too. I don't care, we're both guys in here," he replied, before planting himself in front of the mirror, making a big show of washing his face and brushing his teeth.

Puzzled and slightly taken aback, Griffin just shrugged his shoulders and turned to start the tap. He pulled off his boxers and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist; despite the fact the Seth seemed completely nonchalant about the whole matter.

Feeling the water, Griffin decided it was hot enough and, dropping the towel, quickly hopped in, pulling the curtain back as he went. He began to massage his scalp, letting the warm water help wake up his muscles and take the tension out of his neck. As he grabbed the soap, he almost dropped it when Seth called out again from beyond the curtain.

"So…what do you think of working in the shelter now?" he said, his voice muffled from the splatters of water coming from both the shower and the sink. "Enjoying it?"

Cursing as he picked up the bar of soap, Griffin replied, "Yeah, it's all right." Scrubbing himself, he went on, "I really do enjoy it, talking to people and hearing their stories."

Seth leaned up against the bathroom counter, brushing his teeth. "Yeah, but what I mean is, is that something you could see yourself doing for a while? I mean, what do you want to do with your life?"

Griffin set down the soap and just stared. "You know," he replied suddenly, "I'm not entirely sure I DO know what I want to do with my life," _"At least not any more,"_ he thought silently.

"Tell me," Seth said. "Who are you, really? You know almost everything about us, and yet we know almost nothing about you. We were talking the other night, we want to know who YOU are. You gotta get vulnerable with us man, and let us know the true you!"

"I don't have to tell you anything I don't want to," Griffin responded suddenly, a little more harsh than what he had intended. "Sorry," he said, softening his tone. "It's just, I'm not ready to face my past yet."

"I know," Seth replied. "I was not all that ready to face up to mine. When you're ready, you're ready." Pulling back the shower curtain, he stepped in behind Griffin suddenly.

"Dude," Griffin said, shocked, "what the FUCK are you doing?"

Calmly, Seth grabbed the soap that Griffin had again dropped and began lathering himself up. "Oh relax," he childed. "You're using up the hot water and I need to get going. Besides, I can wash your back."

"I don't care!" Griffin said, trying to get around the other man, to wash the suds out of his hair. "This is weird, seriously, don't be gay about it."

Even more calmly, Seth gently but forcefully turned him back around. "Relax," he said gently, as he began soaping up Griffin's back. He felt the other man tense up at his touch but gradually as he worked his hands into Griffin's back, the muscles began to relax and release.

"Seth," Griffin started, but stopped as Seth hushed him softly. Seth continued working his hands deeper into the man's back, and he could feel the blood start to pump more viscously though him, as his heart began to beat faster, as he was sure Griffin's was.

Griffin felt his legs start to go limp beneath him, as the air around him grew more hot and sultry. Unconsciously he could feel the arousal in him being stirred, and quickly he felt his face flush with shame at the thought of this. To Seth, this was nothing more than a methodical back-rub, albeit one in the shower, but to Griffin, something was causing him to feel a passion he had not felt in a long, long time.

"He..hey…Se..Sethh…" Griffin stuttered again, doing his best to keep his voice from shaking too much.

"Hmm?" Seth replied, digging his fingers into Griffin's lower back, eliciting an unconscious moan from the man in front of him. "Did you say something?"

Griffin drew in a sharp breath and tried again, "It's…just that…"

"How about you don't say anything at all?" Seth cut in suddenly, as he bent back up, leaning over Griffin's right shoulder.

"Why would I want to do that?" Griffin said, indignation rising in his voice?

"Because," Seth said, grabbing Griffin by the shoulders and jerking him around. "If you're talking, you can't do this," he said, grabbing Griffin's lips in a soul-searing kiss.

Griffin just froze, his mind racing as fast as his heart was, as Seth pushed up against him, the hot water, the steam, the passion, all came racing back around them in a fiery blaze. He just stood, too shocked to move, not knowing what to do, not knowing how to act, not knowing how to feel; how to think.

Seth gently pulled away and wiped his wet hair off his brow, panting slightly, a look of both lust and deep, deep love; hope and fear, so ingrained in his eyes that Griffin's frozen figure faltered slightly. This look of such care and passion took away any ability for Griffin to respond.

"Seth…" he breathed, cut off as his lips went back to Seth's. _"God, is this wrong or is this so right…?"_ he thought wildly, as the overload on in senses flashed and swirled in his own eyes. Taking a shaking step back, he suddenly whipped the curtain open and ran out of the room, too quickly to notice the satisfied smile on Seth's face.

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**A/N:** Okay, so I know this was a much shorter chapter. It's just part 2 of the last chapter. A full length chapter will be up some time in next few days. I've still been having problems uploading, so that's why this is a little late.

The main purpose for these two parts of this chapter is to give back story and character info. The REAL plot will really evolve in the next few chapters.

REVIEW!!! By **65 TOTAL** reviews, I'll update again! That's only like **7 or 8**. Thanks all!


	9. Come Pick Me Up, I've Landed

It's been almost five years since the ceremonial battle. Yami has stayed, but as both his and Yugi's 21st birthday approach, Yami seems distant. Will Yami blow everything and push Yugi away?

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. However, the storyline is mine, and any OCs that may come to visit ARE mine. Also, any quotes of such are not mine, and will be attributed to the original authors.

Info: Eventual YxYY, multiple YxOC up to that point. Semi AU, however, follows anime/show history to a point…

A/N: **Thanks all, for your reviews. I really appreciate your feedback. And to show that I listen to it, I promise, YAMI will be in this chapter. **

Normal Talking-narration

"Character Talking"-character talking

/mind talking/-mind link

Quote talking-quote or lyrics OR thinking to one's self (it will be obvious which)

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Joey, Tea, and Tristan decided to go to America without me today. Grandpa went with them, so I'm all alone here in the shop. I'm glad they're gone I guess. I'm sick of being branded a hater. I know my hikari, and that I need to let him find himself now. But no, to them that doesn't make sense. They say 'Yami, how can you know what he wants, if he hates you so much?' God, I'm only 21…! I don't have all the world's answers. I don't have magic, or power, or anything I once had. I'm just Yami Moto, with a surname being the only connection I still have to my hikari. But now…I'm out of ideas. I can't fix this one. _

_A broken hearted Yami_

Yami tucked the book back into his bag, holding some clothes, his deck, and a small wrapped box, that had remained undisturbed from the pillow, where he had left it. Slinging the sack over his shoulder as he stood up from the hard seat in the airport terminal, he unfolded the boarding pass he had received in exchange for the one Yugi had given him.

"Last call for flight 1875 for Cairo, Egypt, at Gate H2," came a metallic voice over the loud speaker.

Upon checking the boarding stub and confirming the information, Yami nodded, set his jaw, and marched towards the jet terminal.

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Griffin ran panting up to his room, ignoring the fact he was naked, ignoring the fact it was still only 7 in the morning and every had been up real late, ignoring the fact that water was dripping everywhere. All he cared about was getting up to his room, locking the door, and burying his head under the pillow.

"_Oh, my, God…"_ Griffin thought wildly, mind racing as he slammed his door shut. Whipping a sheet off his bed to wrap up in, he darted back, clicking the door's lock shut and sinking to the floor, leaning against it. "What have I brought on myself?" he whispered, looking down at his lap, still dripping wet, his long hair, wet and limp falling over his teary eyes.

While only sitting there for a minute or so before standing, time seemed to stretch for hours as the man walked back and slumped down on the bed. Closing his eyes in exhaustion, he began to think of what to do.

"_God, that's so wrong and sick,"_ one half of his mind said.

"_But why did you get so…turned on by that…?"_ the other half of his mind argued. _"You sure didn't act like it was sick… your body at least…"_

"_So what, I'm a gay fag then?"_ a third voice countered. _"What the fuck?"_

"_You've loved others who are men,"_ the second voice rationed.

The first voice shot, _"Who? I've never loved anyone, and I don't love Seth either. I mean, he's nice and all, but love?"_

"_What about Yami,"_ the second voice replied simply. _"You loved him deeper than anyone else._"

"That was DIFFERENT!" Griffin shouted out loud, sitting up angrily. The voices flew from his head as he realized he was now drenched in a cold sweat as well as dampness from the shower.

"What is different?" came a timid voice from outside, which Griffin immediately recognized as Kristi's.

"What do you want?" Griffin replied wearily, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and boxers as he went over to the door before unlocking it with a CLICK.

Kristi quickly stepped over the threshold of Griffin's room before clicking the lock shut behind her.

"Oh God," Griffin said sarcastically. "You gonna try and rape me too?"

His expression softened slightly as he saw Kristi sink into a chair and bury her face in her hands. Sitting down in the bay window seat next to her, he asked more gently, "What's wrong Kristi?"

Kristi just sighed heavily, her shoulders shaking slightly as she lifted her pale face up at Griffin's, noting, with some fear, the cool, disconnected look in his eyes. She replied softly, "So Seth confessed to us what he did to you and-"

"WHAT?" Griffin cut in sharply. "He totally ambushed me and, I'm not…"

"Griffin," she said simply, holding up a hand. "I have seen people from all walks of life and I don't care what happened, just that it did. Listen, please, to what I have to say?" When he backed down, she went on, "Did Seth tell you about his past? What life was like before we found him?"

"No," Griffin said begrudgingly, motioning for Kristi to continue.

"Well," she replied, "He was on the streets as I'm sure you do know, but we found him because he was a prostitute. Not the glorified kind either. His parents died when he was 11 and his older brother, instead of caring for him, pimped him out to all the real scum of the city. That's where we found him, when Trishta came to the shelter one day, saying she had been accosted by this 20-something freak, maybe a year or so go. She came running into the shelter, and thank God Joe was there when it happened. He and I went outside with Mahilo and some other staff sneaking around the back. We saw the man Trishta was talking about be he ran off as we expected, and we weren't about to take on this guy empty-handed (relatively speaking, Joe wanted to kill him). If you hadn't figured out, he and her have had a thing for a while now. But anyways, leaving behind him was Seth, not wearing prostitute clothing, but nothing more than dirty rags. He was cut and bruised and it took a long time for him to trust us. This is the most he's ever opened up, and it was to YOU!"

Griffin just stared. Answering low, "I understand he may have had a difficult life. But you don't know what he did to me! He could have AIDS or STDS or something, and why did he come after me? His life isn't an excuse!"

"You are not looking at the big picture, Griffin," Kristi said sadly, gazing out the window. "What he did was hard for you, I know. I wouldn't necessarily like that either. But he doesn't know how to love. For him to say that he loves you; that is incredible. This is his way of saying how much he cares for you. He doesn't know what he's doing, and that's not an excuse per say, but give him time. He was so upset when you ran away, and he feels terrible."

"But that's not the point," Griffin said angrily, feeling the blood rise to his face again. "Even if he loves me, you don't jump somebody like that! I don't even think I like guys and here you are setting me up with him! What about me?"

"You do what your heart tells you Griffin," Kristi said simply, crossing her arms and leaning back, looking at the enraged and yet insecure young man before her. "If you like him, then that is that. But regardless of any romantic feelings that you may or may not harbor, you still need to be nice to him. Tell him how you feel. Tell him about the REAL you…"

"The 'real me', eh Kristi?" Griffin replied. "What is 'the real me'? I don't even know who the real me is anymore!"

"Tell him who you are. You saw how much he enjoys dueling," Kristi said, before suddenly gasping at seeing Griffin's eyes flash again.

"Yes, dueling," he snapped. "What was the purpose of that gift you gave me? I told you I don't like to talk about it, and you still gave me those cards!"

"Because," Kristi said sadly, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve, "I saw how much your eyes lit up when I mentioned them, way back when, even if you want to forget it. You can't change your past, Griffin. Just your future. You are a duelist at heart. You were famous! Seth would look up to you even more, if he knew who you truly were. We all have secrets, and we understand each other!"

"You are forcing me to talk about my past?!" Griffin shouted angrily. "I can't believe you are going to force me to do that! I thought you would understand!"

"I understand, Griffin," Kristi whispered. "But I don't understand enough. I don't know what you have gone through, but as your friend, I want to understand. Not because I am nosy, but because I care about you."

Kristi stood up slowly and began walking to the door, as Griffin kept pacing back and forth in front of the window. As she reached out to the door handle, he stopped.

"Wait," he said quietly.

When Kristi paused, he said, "I'm sorry. It is still so much to take in, and I'm spiraling, Kristi. For Seth to pull this on me, it just was overwhelming. It's no excuse for your hospitality, and I am truly sorry if I upset you. I just don't know how to feel at this point.

"Well, if you want, why don't you come down to the front room. Everyone's still down there, and, if you're ready, I'll tell everyone you want to talk. No pressure, but you can if you want.

Griffin nodded, "Do it. You guys deserve the truth."

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Yami stretched his arms over his head as he stood up. The long flight was over and people were finally disembarking. Grabbing his bags and heading down the jet way, he took out his phone, dialing what he hoped was the right number. Punching in the digits as he walked towards customs, he scanned his eyes across the crowd until he heard a voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

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And so Griffin sat, for almost a half an hour, with everyone sitting around, seemingly spellbound. He told them who he was; a former duelist who was at one time the world champion. He told them about his old friends, how they had bullied him until one day, he had stood up for them. He told them about Yami, his best friend, who had hurt him so deeply by not caring. He told them why he had left his home and his grandfather, and why he would not go back. And he told them about his heartache, as if his soul was being torn in two.

He told them everything.

As each secret was revealed, Griffin felt as though another layer of his façade was being peeled off, his dead shell of a life was being removed, leaving him feeling naked, exposed, but at the same time; cleaner, more whole, more real.

"So, you're really Yugi Moto then?" Joe said in awe, at the first pause in Griffin's explanation in almost thirty-five minutes. "Dude, that is so sick!"

"I can't believe I didn't recognize him!" he went on, looking around the room at everyone else, all shaking their heads too. "I mean, with your hair and everything…"

Griffin chuckled, at total ease with everything off his chest, "I want to cut it off though," he said, running his fingers through his still slightly-damp locks of hair. "I don't need it all anymore, and I don't really want people to recognize me, even if you didn't."

"But it's hot, and cool, all at the same time!" Trishta said admiringly. "We didn't know who you were, and it was kind of your trademark!"

"But the key word is 'was', Trish," Griffin replied. "I want to put my past behind me. But yet, you guys deserved an explanation. But I'm done dueling. I was done a long, long time ago. I want to do something with music maybe, I'm just not sure."

"Then take some time for yourself, Griffin," Mahilo said gently. "You are always welcome here but you are free to go explore the city, the country, whatever your heart desires. We are not going to tie you down, but know we always will wait for you to come home."

"Thank you, Mahilo," Griffin replied graciously. "I just want to take some time here, by myself, to think and to decide what I would like to do here in America."

"Dude, we're all behind you," Joe said, nodding. "Do what your heart tells you."

"But," Kristi said suddenly, "I think you need to talk to Seth personally."

"What, isn't he here?" Griffin asked suddenly, looking all around, and noticing that the sixth person was missing from earlier.

"He left when you were talking about Yami and stuff," Kristi replied, motioning out of the room. "I think you need to tell him how you feel, honestly."

"But I don't-" Griffin started, but Kristi held up a hand.

"It doesn't matter if you like him that way or not. But you need to give him an answer regardless, otherwise he will never know. If you want him to stop, tell him and he will. I know it."

Griffin sighed and slowly stood up. With everyone watching him, he silently headed out of the room, and down the downstairs hall, one step closer to finding Seth.

To finding himself.

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**A/N:** TWO cliffies! I just love them, if you can't tell! snigger. At least some things are resolved. I wanna address something a second.

I know many people were offended by what Seth did to Griffin (Yugi) in the shower. Honestly though, he could have gone much farther, had Griffin not flown out of there. You'll find out what happens, or doesn't happen, between them in the next chapter. So keep waiting!!!

Also, some people have messaged me about the way I am portraying Griffin's feelings towards being gay. They say it's bigoted towards homosexuals. The reason Griffin seems so cold towards it is because he is insecure. He DID have feelings for Yami a long time ago, and now with Seth, and they way he reacted in the shower, he's confused. And he isn't sure how people would accept him. Coming out is a big deal in America, and he doesn't want to be rejected if he is. But he's not sure yet. After the whole "strip-club" thing…that was arousing for him…He is definitely bi, but he can go either way at this point.

But anyways, thanks for all the messages, reviews, advice, and criticisms. I love hearing how my readers view my stories. Only you can tell me what you would like to see!

**I'll update by 75 total reviews! That's only nine I think???**


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